The Last of an Elite
by InterfaceLeader
Summary: The story of the Turks, from their first meeting through to the end of Midgar. [COMPLETED]
1. Replacements

The Last of an Elite  
  
Chapter One: Replacements.  
  
By InterfaceLeader  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Tseng cleared his desk of the remaining paperwork as he usually did. To the casual observer he appeared normal, calm and collected. His dark blue suit was tidy and his long black hair hung in its customary downward sweep. Everything about him was neat and precise – no casual observer would have noticed anything strange.  
  
An observer who was more familiar with the man might have noticed the sudden jerk in his shoulders as he stood upright, might have noticed the whitening around the knuckles as his hand opened the desk drawer. Might even, if they were a perceptive observer, have noticed the haunted, empty look in the dark eyes.  
  
It had not been a normal day.  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Beans, hundreds of cans of cheap beans. Reno glowered at them. Hundreds of cans in boxes. Hundreds of cans that need to be tagged and shelved.  
  
1 I really hate my job.  
  
2  
  
3 The main problem with his job, as he had decided many times before, was not the boredom, nor the total lack of contact with ladies, nor even the overbearing military-gone-to-seed boss. It was the fact he was working all day with food he would never eat. His stomach, although long inured to near starvation rations, protested at the sight.  
  
4  
  
5 He worked at the Sector Three "indoor food market". The establishment was smaller than it's name suggested, being three small shops in one building. It was also a con, since the same person owned all three shops. Reno was the only employee, aside from the people who did the actual selling. This meant he got all the menial tasks from three separate shops, for the wage of working at one.  
  
The reason he worked there was the same reason he lived on starvation rations. His family was dependent on him as the only source of income. And he wouldn't let his younger siblings develop the same swollen stomachs, stick-like limbs, and hollow eyes of the other kids he saw roaming the streets of the slums.  
  
Some day.... Some day I'll get out of here. When they're old enough to take care of themselves. Then I'll make up for it all. I'll tell that ass-wipe of a boss exactly what I think of him. And I'll travel the world, try out all the different alcoholic specialities... meet up with a few exotic babes. Yeah...  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Tseng was rigid, his body paralysed, behind closed lids his eyes rolled, testimony to the nightmare that raised its ugly head for the first time that night. It would return, time and time again. A Turk's life is not conductive to pleasant dreams, and Tseng has just experienced his baptism of fire.  
  
It had been a standard mission, a few well-meaning people had gone one step too far and brought themselves to the attention of Shin-Ra. The Turks had been told to eliminate them. To kill them as Drekanov, the leader, always emphasised. Don't dress it up as anything pretty.  
  
The "well-meaning" people turned out to be anything but and the introduction of hostages had complicated matters. Not just any hostages but children. Drekanov's orders had been clear, kill them all, regardless of who gets in the way. A Turk did not disobey an order. Rather than subject his men to the ordeal he had simply done it himself.  
  
Tseng head arched back, sweat rolling down his back, soaking the sheets. There is as much guilt produced in watching as in pulling the trigger.  
  
At the end of the massacre Drekanov had shot himself. Tseng could see the blood staining the walls, the slumped body of the man he had called "sir". With his death Tseng had automatically gained the highest rank. He had ordered the two Shin-Ra guards who had come along to clean up the mess and then returned to the HQ and shut himself up in his office. No one had seen the normally stoic man reduced to tears. By the time he emerged he appeared as he normally did.  
  
He heard then that the other Turk who had gone along had also committed suicide.  
  
He would dream of the day for the rest of his life.  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
President Shinra stood looking out upon the city he had shaped. His favourite opera music was playing, and Hojo felt the customary pain in his temples start throbbing again. Hojo despised opera music.  
  
"Can it be done?"  
  
"Certainly it can be done" snapped Hojo. Did this man think he was an imbecile? "It is simple, a few days will be all that is needed."  
  
"And the man will be....."  
  
"Guiltless. A perfect assassin. He will retain his full intelligence, and the ordinary loyalty program will ensure he does not turn on us. But he will lose his moral centre, he will have the ability to commit acts that may be considered monstrous, without a single pang of regret."  
  
"We can't afford another scene like today. A few brats get involved and two thirds of my "elite" are suddenly dead! By their own hands!" President Shinra turned from the window and glared across at Hojo.  
  
"Indeed"  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Rude fingered the blue suit with some discomfort. To be promoted from Soldier to Turk was an honour to say the least, but why did the suits have to be so itchy?  
  
With some trepidation he put on the sunglasses that had been included with the suit. To his surprise they felt near weightless. He could almost forget he had them on...  
  
He then looked down at the sheet of paper that had been handed to him by Tseng. Your first mission, the man had said, don't mess it up.  
  
He wondered if he was supposed to eat the paper now he'd read it. The training he had received had been extremely brief, he assumed it was because of the sudden deaths of two of the previous Turks. Better safe than sorry he thought, and ripped off a bit of the paper and started chewing. It didn't taste of much.  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Reno hit the bar before going home. He couldn't spend any money in there, but this particular bar owner still let him have a tab. Most of the other bars had figured him out by now, and refused to sell him anything except for hard cash, up front. Life was tough like that. Reno chuckled to himself as he espied the wallet sticking oh-so-temptingly out of one of the other patrons pockets. It was the work of a moment to hook it out. Life was certainly tough for some.  
  
"Hiya Tifa babes!"  
  
The attractive woman looked up from where she was scrubbing the bar top, and smiled automatically at the redhead currently lounging on one of the stools.  
  
"Hi Reno. Get you something?"  
  
"Usual." Reno looked round the bar working out if anyone else in there could be used in the never ending quest for Gil. The big black man who seemed to act as Tifa's bouncer was stood near the pinball machine, glaring at anyone who came close.  
  
"He's scaring away the custom ya know"  
  
She shrugged "It's broken anyway"  
  
Reno perked up "Really? Maybe I could fix it for ya? I charge less than the call out guys. And for a babe like you...." He gave her a wink.  
  
She smiled again. "Thanks for the offer, but it's not worth it. No one used it.... I might have it taken out one of these days."  
  
"I also operate a take out service. I remove unwanted junk, clear up the mess, and carry it down the dump, all for a low low price."  
  
Tifa shook her head. "Really, you're obsessed with that machine."  
  
"Not the machine. Just with getting some cash." Reno sighed. Didn't look like the woman was going to part with any.  
  
"Times are hard huh?"  
  
"Like always." He stared into the drink, for a moment the depression stealing up on him.  
  
"Can I get you something to drink?" Tifa spoke past him, and Reno swivelled to see who had just entered. It turned out to be a tall guy, in a blue suit. Wearing sunglasses. Talk about intimidating, this guy was the living definition of the word. Reno eyed the suit, he was from up top, definitely. And that meant money. Reno waved to the empty stool on his left.  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Rude sank down on to the barstool next to the redhead. He looked at Tifa, but the sunglasses hid the light that came in to his eyes. She made him a drink and moved on, two noisier guys from a table calling her away.  
  
Rude carefully re-ran his mission through his head. He was to find someone who was fast, strong, agile, but more importantly had an innate flair for social contact. The reason why hadn't been declared, but Rude suspected it was to take up the third Turk post. The group needed a spy, someone who gained trust easily. Rude had to admit he couldn't take on that role very easily.  
  
"So where're you from?" A sharp elbow in the side brought him back to reality.  
  
".....Me?"  
  
"Who do you think I'm talking to? My invisible friend?"  
  
"............"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, that was bad sarcasm." The guy laughed "I'm the king of bad sarcasm you know. So where're you from? Wall market?"  
  
"No."  
  
"No? Nice suit like that, I figured you had to be one of those enterprising types. So which sector?"  
  
".........." Rude wondered what to say. Claiming he lived up top was as good as admitting he was connected to Shin-Ra, and he doubted that would be a wise move. Maybe he should have come up with a cover story first.  
  
"Well?" Reno tapped his foot against the leg of the stool impatiently.  
  
"Sector..... Three."  
  
"Mmm huh. And what d'ya do there?"  
  
"I.... work..... in.... a shop."  
  
"Riiiiiiiiiight. Which shop?"  
  
"........" Rude thought hastily. A shop in Sector Three, a shop in Sector Three. "The Food Market place...."  
  
Reno tipped his glass up as he considered how he could turn the guys lies to his advantage. His curiosity had been thoroughly aroused now. Whatever the guy was doing here it wasn't legit.  
  
Rude cast around for a topic of conversation. He really hated this.  
  
".... You?"  
  
"Where do I work? Well, I'm currently between jobs you might say." Reno winked at the bemused looking man. "And looking for new employment opportunities. Anything you might have heard of on the grape vine?"  
  
Rude turned and studied the man more closely. He was of average height, which meant the top of his head reached Rude's shoulder. His fingers curled round the shot glass he held, slender for a guy. His wrist was partly bent and thin, Rude could have put his thumb and forefinger round it. A loose T- shirt, off white and several sizes too big only emphasised his skinny frame. His face was narrow, and high cheek bones created odd shadows in the yellowish light of the bar. His eyes, an oddly beautiful green-blue, were focused on Rude, and appeared too large for his thin face. A shock of bright red hair, in serious need of a hairbrush, extended part way down his back and was held in place by a frayed elastic band. He looked about 17, and Rude realised with a sudden flicker of compassion that he was starving.  
  
Rude turned and waved Tifa back over. "Do you serve food here?"  
  
"Yep" she replied easily "What can I get you?"  
  
Rude turned to the redhead "What do you want?"  
  
Reno looked at him blankly "Huh?"  
  
"I don't like eating alone" Rude lied  
  
"................. well, uh, just a sandwich or something...... thanks"  
  
"Two sandwiches." Rude said to Tifa.  
  
Reno looked at the man with confusion. What did he want? There's no such thing as a free lunch... pretty much the motto of the slums. And here he was, giving out just that. There's a catch. There's always a catch.  
  
"What's your name buddy?"  
  
"Rude."  
  
"Rude huh? Nice. I'm Reno."  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
A/N: So what did you think? This is my first attempt at a chaptered story, and I'll be analysing people's impressions carefully ^_^ Next chapter will be up soon, all going well.  
  
  
  
6  
  
7 


	2. I uh... owe you money?

The Last of an Elite  
  
Chapter Two: I uh... owe you money?  
  
By InterfaceLeader  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
The three guys who stood outside the bar were quite obviously thugs of the better kind. The small one in the middle was wearing a glaringly tasteless purple shirt and light blue suit. Heavy gold rings on his fingers and a long wide necktie marked him out clearly as the boss. The one to the right wore a black shirt, black jeans, and had a thin moustache that somehow managed to look slimy. The third man was a huge hulking ape with lumpy tendons criss-crossing his muscles, and a brow that was permanently furrowed.  
  
They would have been small-time crooks anywhere else. In the slums their kind reigned supreme. They ran many rackets, had fingers in many pies.  
  
They were about to ascend the steps to the bar, a pleasant little place known as Tifa's Seventh Heaven. It was not an establishment they had any professional interest in, the owners had proven their capabilities to protect themselves long before.  
  
They were here on business however.  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Rude watched the redhead – Reno – consume his third sandwich with as much as vigour as his first two. He was rather impressed at the speed at which the guy could eat, and wondered if there was a record somewhere he could attempt to break. He also wondered if there was a talk-extremely-fast- whilst-eating-at-breakneck-speed-without-choking-or-breathing contest. Reno would have been a sure fire winner for that one.  
  
"So I said to the guy whatcha gonna gonna make of it huh and he was like I don't want trouble but I need that money you owe so I like glared at him and he just stood there looking plain stupid so I just turned on my heel and left and he didn't even try and stop me it was so funny the expression on his face but it's not my fault the guys a dick and didn't check if I could pay before selling me the damn generator right? Right? Hey Rude you listening?"  
  
"......."  
  
"Right, good." Reno gave a sideways glance toward the man. "Hey, you couldn't get me a discount at the food market in sector three could ya?"  
  
"......... no......."  
  
"Why not?" Reno was determined to get to the bottom of this story, and he didn't care how long it took him. Especially if the guy kept buying him sandwiches.  
  
Rude stared at the bottles lining the wall behind the counter. The rest of the room was reflected and distorted in them. Tables of happy drinkers. Tables of depressed drinkers. A few people standing round drinking. He noticed the door swing open and three more people enter, tinged green by the glass. The three approached the bar quietly. Rude turned slowly, feeling the hostility radiating off them like smoke.  
  
Reno turned his head to see what Rude was looking at, and his eyes widened slightly. "Oh crap"  
  
"Reno" The middle guy spoke softly, shaking his head. "You've been avoiding me haven't you?"  
  
"Avoiding you? No way, why would I do that?" Reno gave a half-grin that didn't quite disguise the underlying nervousness.  
  
"Well, you tell me.... One might almost think you'd forgotten our little... deal. I hate to remind you, but the payment back is just a little overdue...."  
  
"Oh... the deal. To tell the truth I'd clean forgot. Maybe you could remind me how much I owe ya?"  
  
"You borrowed 300 Gil... four months ago. At 95% interest a month." He lifted a hand dripping in gold and swept it back through thinning blond- grey hair. "Would you like the total amount now due?"  
  
Reno raised an eyebrow. "I can work it out myself thanks." There was a brief pause and then he said with a certain amount of horror "Two thousand, two hundred and twenty five Gil?! You have to be kidding!"  
  
"I never kid when it comes to money." The man gave a predatory smile "I assume you're ready to pay?"  
  
Reno sat for a moment staring into the distance, and then, before anyone could even blink, he dived forward off the stool and shot between the legs of the man directly in front of him, skidding along the floor on his knees before leaping to his feet and making for the door at a run. Behind him the three thugs spun round, guns appearing seemingly out of nowhere. Bullets thudded into the door as it slammed shut behind Reno, and the rest of the clientele screamed and started knocking tables over and hiding behind them. Across the room the big, tough-looking guy Rude had noticed earlier raised a gun – was that his arm? – and started firing repeatedly at the thugs. Rude narrowly avoided gathering a bullet or two himself.  
  
The one with the slimy moustache grabbed Rude by the shoulder. "Stop firing or the baldy gets it!" he screamed. Rude curled up both hands and punched him twice, right fist breaking the nose, the left fist sending the man flying backwards, crashing through the wooden wall on the opposite side of the room.  
  
The best defence is a good offence. Rude grabbed the purple shirted man round the middle and threw him at the ape-man. The two went down in a tangle of limbs, and Rude chucked a couple of bar stools at them, and then a table. A few groans from underneath the pile of wreckage satisfied him that they weren't going anywhere, and he strode from the bar.  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Tifa drop kicked the last drunk rowdy tough-guy wannabe out of the bar door and turned to survey the damage. Half a dozen broken tables littered the floor, broken glass, blood and the occasional spent cartridge lay in mute testimony to the violence. She shook her head with a groan.  
  
"I really hate my job....."  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Reno pelted through the streets, narrowly avoiding an overflowing dumpster and spinning round a corner into the next sector. His breath was coming raggedly and his heart was pounding in his chest. He gradually slowed and then halted, sweat dripping from him as he leaned over and panted. As his gasps lessened and his heart returned to his normal rate he suddenly heard two sets of steady footsteps coming towards him.  
  
Looking round, he saw no hiding places. He was too tired to run again. The footsteps were gaining volume, and he realised whoever they were were going to find him. Standing as straight as he could he readied himself for a confrontation.  
  
The muggers saw the scrawny looking target at the same time, and grinned at each other. Approaching him swiftly, they went into their normal routine, one preparing to grab whatever he could, the other pulling out a thick wooden stick ready to bash the guy should he put up a fight.  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Rude hurried in the direction he assumed Reno had gone. Although he wasn't that familiar with the slums he knew enough to know it was the only direction that didn't lead to a dead end.  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
The first mugger circled Reno slowly, looking for an opening. May as well give him one thought Reno, and moved his hand away from his side, providing clear access to his pockets. The mugger took the opportunity, running forward suddenly. Reno spun round and brought his knee up as hard as he could into the muggers crotch. The mugger let out a shriek of pain and dropped to the floor, hands clutching his manhood as tears ran from his eyes.  
  
The second mugger growled with fury at seeing his partner felled and lifted the stick threateningly. Reno turned back toward him, smiling slightly. The second mugger rushed towards him, trying to overpower him with sheer brute force. Reno caught hold of the wrist of the hand holding the stick and twisted it round, away from him. There was a snap, and this mugger also shrieked, eyes rolling with pain and surprise as his broken arm released the stick.  
  
"You know, I've had a really bad day and you guys haven't improved it at all." Reno brought both hands curled together up into the muggers chin, causing his head to snap back and for him to stagger back five paces before collapsing to the floor, unconscious.  
  
Behind him, the first mugger climbed unsteadily back to his feet, his eyes flicking from Reno's back to the slumped body of his friend. Deciding to cut his losses he fled down the alley.  
  
"......" Rude stepped round the corner and looked at the downed mugger.  
  
"Oh it's you." Reno pushed his hair out of his eyes "What happened to the sharks?"  
  
"Buried in wreckage......"  
  
"Really? Who did that?"  
  
Rude shrugged. "Me."  
  
"You fought 'em? How come?"  
  
Rude shrugged again. He was thinking about the mission he was on. To find someone who was fast, strong, agile, but more importantly had an innate flair for social contact.  
  
"You have money problems". It was a statement, not a question.  
  
"Yeah, nothing I can't cope with." Reno lifted his chin and glared at the older man "You're not one of those freaks who go round collecting up the destitute and offerin' them money for perverted acts are you? 'Cause I am totally not getting into that."  
  
".........." Rude looked blankly at Reno, who sighed.  
  
"OK, maybe not. What the hell is it with you anyway? First you make up some story about working at the Sector Three Indoor Food Market, as if anyone's gonna believe that considering your shoes are probably worth more than they pay in a year, then you splurge money on some stranger you only just met, and bash a few loan sharks on the head just for fun.... then you come chasing after said stranger in order to tell him he has money problems, like he doesn't already know....... Some people might consider that kinda behaviour rather suspicious. People like me for instance."  
  
"......."  
  
"That's really not an answer!"  
  
"I'm.... looking for someone."  
  
"Oh really. Who?"  
  
"....... Maybe you."  
  
"Pardon? I don't even know you buddy, we met about quarter of an hour ago. Or did you forget that already?"  
  
Rude cleared his throat. "I'm looking for someone fast, strong, agile, and has an innate flair for social contact."  
  
"uh...... You doing that for any particular reason or just for kicks?"  
  
"........"  
  
"Enough with that already! Just answer me!"  
  
"I think we're going to offer them a job."  
  
"A job?" Reno studied the bald man thoughtfully. "What kind of job? And whose the 'we'?"  
  
"That's confidential."  
  
"Confidential my arse. You can't offer someone a job and not tell them what it is."  
  
"......"  
  
"I thought I told you to stop doing that?"  
  
"I don't have the authority to answer your questions."  
  
"Then let me answer them for you" Reno said, sarcastically "The "we" is Shinra, and the job is something that's dangerous, probably involves fighting, and obviously dealing with people in some form. Therefore spying or torturing people or similar. Am I right?"  
  
"........"  
  
"I am? Good."  
  
Rude considered everything for a moment. Then he raised one large fist and knocked Reno unconscious.  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
A/N: Many thanks to the people who have reviewed this story so far ~ they gave me quite a buzz ^_^ I hope you enjoy this chapter as well, and I apologise to any Tseng fans, he will turn up in the next chapter, I promise! This is more of a straight-forward action chapter, which turned out to be harder than I thought to write.  
  
Let me know what you thought! 


	3. Congratulations, you’re a Turk.

The Last of an Elite  
  
Chapter Three: Congratulations, you're a Turk.  
  
By InterfaceLeader  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Tseng raised the rifle to his shoulder, taking aim through the sight. His sense were sharper than normal, he was aware of the muted undercurrent that ran through the Shin-Ra building night and day. His heartbeat was steady, a regular rhythm, and his thoughts turned to life. And death.  
  
His finger squeezed the trigger and the bullet left the muzzle of the gun with a barely a sound.  
  
"That was good! Barely registered on the dial. I'd say the new silencer is a definite improvement!" The tech – short, with a fuzzy haircut – snapped the top of the device closed and took the gun from Tseng's hands. "I'll write up a report and recommend it to the President. Might help make your job a whole lot easier eh?"  
  
Tseng nodded curtly, unable to shake the images from last night. There was worry, below the cool professionalism, a worry that the images would stop him from performing well at a crucial moment. Worry that these emotions were wrong. Worry that the remorse would destroy him as it had his fellow Turks. His friends.  
  
He returned to his office. Rude should be reporting in soon, he thought. I wonder if succeeded in finding someone?  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Reno came around slowly. His head hurt, a chronic pain that wasn't familiar. Not a hangover then. He opened his eyes a crack, and became aware of a strong electric light. Closing them, he felt around himself carefully. He was lying on a floor, a hard stone floor. There was a stone wall to his right, with a long cold metal pipe running along it.  
  
He opened his eyes fully. A jail cell? His thoughts were fuzzy. What had happened? Where was he?  
  
He sat up, his head protesting at the movement. The pain shifted and became more localised, reaching up a hand he felt at the sore spot. No blood, that was a good sign.  
  
"Oh crap... That Rude guy must have knocked me out." He smirked as he realised what he had said. "Very rude guy he was indeed..."  
  
He stood, walked over to the bars that replaced one wall. Facing him across a narrow corridor was another jail cell, empty.  
  
"HEY!" His voice reverberated round the corridor. "Anyone there!? I want out! There's been a mistake! I'll sue ya! I want a lawyer!"  
  
"Shut up." It was a weary voice, and a second later a Shinra guard came into view. His slouched shoulders and dragging footsteps gave mute testimony to his lack of enthusiasm for his job.  
  
"Where am I?" Reno demanded  
  
"In the Shinra HQ. And if I were you I'd stop drawing attention to myself."  
  
"Why? Why am I even here?"  
  
The guy shrugged "Don't ask me. Never meddle in the affairs of Turks."  
  
"Turks?"  
  
"Yep. The guy who brought you in last night was a Turk."  
  
"Rude's a Turk? What's a Turk?"  
  
"You really don't wanna know."  
  
"Yes I do. I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."  
  
Behind his mask the guard rolled his eyes. "They're nasty guys who are gonna torture you four ways to hell and then chuck your mutilated remains off a bridge with a weight tied to you."  
  
"Why? I ain't done anything!"  
  
"That's what they all say."  
  
At that point Rude rounded the corner into the corridor and walked up to the guard, who promptly stood to attention and saluted. "Sir!"  
  
"....." Rude waved the guard away and produced a set of keys which he used to unlock the jail door. Reno watched him with something like apprehension. What the hell is going on?  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Tseng looked up as Rude entered the office. He was politely but firmly escorting a thin scared looking kid. Tseng noted the nervousness in his eyes just barely being hidden by a fake bravado that Tseng had come to associate with the more violent citizens of the slums. His initial reaction was one of scepticism.  
  
"That's the best you could find? He looks like one strong puff of wind would blow him over."  
  
"Hey!" The kid exclaimed.  
  
"He's fast – and stronger than he looks. " Rude answered Tseng swiftly.  
  
"Hmm" Tseng turned to the kid. "Attack me." He said simply.  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Reno glared as hard as he could at the tall sophisticated looking Wutaian man. Even an idiot could see this guy was a coiled spring of power. Just by looking at the set of his shoulders and the easy confidence with which he held himself was enough to tell Reno that attacking him would be a very bad idea.  
  
"Attack me. I won't hurt you."  
  
"Like hell you won't."  
  
Tseng turned back to Rude.  
  
"He's useless. He's just some brat that gets by on a few tricks, dirty fighting and the like. He wouldn't last in a real fight."  
  
"Shall I take him back?" Rude asked, disappointed that his first mission had turned out so badly.  
  
"No. He knows too much. Kill him." Tseng turned from the two as a signal of dismissal.  
  
It took a second for Reno to realise the order that had just been given. He could feel Rude's hand tightening on his shoulder, ready to pull him away.  
  
"Kill me? No way!" Reno wrenched his arm away from Rude, desperately trying to figure out some way of escape. Rude was at the door. He darted towards the window instead diving past Tseng expecting at any moment to feel the man grab him. But Tseng did nothing, just watched him as he reached the window. Looking down he could see why. The ground was a long way below, and Reno, who had never been past three stories before, felt his stomach twist and knot inside him. Spinning back to face the room he saw Rude coming round the desk towards him.  
  
"Shit! What's wrong with you people? I haven't done a goddamn thing!"  
  
Neither of them answered him. Rude approached with a casualness that infuriated Reno.  
  
"You're going to KILL me for no bloody reason at all!" Reno moved away from Rude, circling the perimeter of the room, knowing it was useless, but the instinctive desire to hold off death pushing him on with his adrenaline soaring and his heart thumping rapidly.  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Tseng watched the two circle the room with interest. It was almost comedic, the sight of Rude being consistently frustrated and the kid consistently moving away, round and round the room. Tseng knew he should intervene but some vague feeling of fairness stopped him.  
  
Rude glared at Reno as he passed the window for the fourth time. This really isn't making me look good in front of Tseng, he thought. Can't even catch some stupid slum-kid when he's locked in an office with me! Putting on a burst of speed he attempted to close the distance between them.  
  
Reno caught the sudden change in Rude's posture and changed tactics. As Rude suddenly shot towards him he leapt across the room and landed on the desk. He heard something crunch and saw the Wutaian wince out of the corner of his eye, but the guy didn't seem about to interfere so Reno kept his attention on Rude, who had also changed directions and was about to make a grab for Reno's legs. Reno kicked out, managing to smash one foot into the bald mans face, but overbalancing in the process and sprawling ungainly across the length of the desk. A pile of paper flew off into the air and about the room.  
  
"Be careful." The Wutaian said.  
  
"Oh, jeez, I'm sorry if my attempts to evade certain death upset your paperwork!" Reno snarled back. While his attention was thus distracted Rude grabbed him by the ankle and yanked him off the desk onto the floor. Reno gave a yelp as he hit, and Rude slammed his own foot down into his stomach, knocking the air from Reno's lungs.  
  
"Ah, that hurt!" Reno rolled away from the bald man, under the desk, one hand on his stomach. Rude hunkered down to reach under the desk. Seeing his arm coming toward him Reno grabbed hold if it with his free hand and sank his teeth into the wrist.  
  
"!" Rude jerked back with a grunt of pain. There was blood on his wrist and he felt a sudden rush of anger that pushed him forward, under the desk and on top of Reno. Pinning the smaller man's arms with one hand he used the other to start pummelling him. Reno let out a long – and loud – howl of pain and frustration.  
  
"Getoffame!" Reno started wriggling around, trying to escape, but the other man was stronger and kept him pinned.  
  
"......." Rude decided that Reno had had enough and sat back in order to pull him up. Unfortunately he forgot about the desk, and his head hit it with a loud thunk. His guard let up for a brief time as he clutched both hands to the pain and Reno wrenched himself free and out from under the desk, knocking over the chair in the process. He hurt all over from the attack, but he wasn't giving up yet. Hauling the keyboard off the desk and snapping a few wires in the process, he turned and smacked it down on top of Rude's head as he tried to follow Reno out from under the desk. The keyboard broke apart and Rude gave a another grunt of pain.  
  
"I think enough of my equipment has been destroyed now." Tseng said dryly, approaching Reno from the other side. Reno registered the movement and turned, ready to defend himself against the new threat, but with a rising feeling of futility.  
  
"Relax" Tseng said, looking over the kid. Reno saw that there was a faint expression of amusement in the guys eyes, and a half-smile that managed to scare him more than any shouted threat had.  
  
Tseng inclined his head slightly and then stood with his legs slightly apart and his hands behind his back. "Attack me."  
  
And since Reno had no choice, he did.  
  
Launching himself at the Wutaian, hoping to take him off guard with speed rather than skill, he suddenly found himself falling headlong towards the floor. Tseng shifted slightly, moving back into his initial posture.  
  
"Rude was correct" He said mildly "You are fast" - a quick glance towards the pieces of keyboard that lay on the floor near the desk - "and stronger than you look."  
  
"Uh... whatever..." Reno sat up slowly, trying to work out how he had ended up on the floor.  
  
"Congratulations. You've just been recruited." Tseng leaned over and helped Rude out from under the desk.  
  
Reno stood up, his eyes wandering around the office. It was largish, and currently had a broken keyboard on the floor, a knocked over chair, and paper covering every flat surface. Rude was rubbing the top of his head ruefully, and Tseng was looking at him with that half-smile.  
  
"I have no idea what's going on....."  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
A/N: OK, this chapter ended up a bit longer than I expected, and nearly all of it is action. I think the jail-cell scene could be taken out, but since it provides some of the only non-fighting parts I decided to leave it in. I hope you like this chapter ~ I feel sorry for Reno and Rude I have to admit ^_^;; Next up is some actual character development and plot as opposed to people slugging it out! 


	4. Scars and Brainwashing

The Last of an Elite  
  
Chapter Four: Scars and Brainwashing  
  
By InterfaceLeader  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
A short, squat man, with black hair that refused to stay tame, rough skin and a belly that had started developing when he was no more than 9, that had recently thickened even more with middle-age. A harsh voice, tiny yet bulging eyes, and a talent for clumsiness and saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Heidegger had not been born a lucky man.  
  
Despite this, he actually possessed a keen intelligence of the military kind. Although his people skills were relatively bad, Tseng knew for a fact that Heidegger had been one of the three factors that had won the war against Wutai.  
  
The first, most important factor, had been Shin-Ra's resources. Better funded, better equipped, and with the weaponry to overwhelm the Wutaian army. The second factor had been Septhiroth – the Jenova "super-warrior" that Hojo had created – and the third had been Heidegger's superior military tactics.  
  
As a result of his involvement in the war President Shin-Ra had promoted him to head of the army – renamed the 'peace preservation forces' – and had given him control of much of the weaponry and military might of Shin-Ra.  
  
He was partnered with another person, a woman called Scarlet. She had probably been a beauty in her younger days, but had taken ageing hard. Most Shin-Ra employee's considered her loose, many termed her a slut and spread stories behind her back. Few happened to mention her skill with firearms and mechanical weapons. She had been part of the design team that created the Junon cannon, a weapon that protected the Shin-Ra military port from any oversea attacks, and allowed Midgar to protect trade and commerce channels. She had been active in the promotion and building of Mako reactors around the world, and ruthless in her treatment of any opposing factions.  
  
Tseng respected them both, despite the commonly held views about them, and he awaited their decision on the new personnel with interest.  
  
"We've looked over the two recruits Tseng. You've picked well, after the usual training they should both be excellent additions to the peacekeeping forces! Gya-ha-ha!"  
  
"But!" Interrupted Scarlet "We have some concerns! Firstly their... how can I put it... their psychological profiles. We don't want a repeat of the tragic events that occurred two days ago, do we?"  
  
"We also" added Heidegger "Have the problem of Reno Denli's family... he appears fairly attached to them. They could be a potential weak spot."  
  
"Yes Sir. I understand that. However I still feel Reno has – certain talents we could utilise." 'Like blind luck and stubbornness' Tseng added in his head.  
  
"Kya-ha-ha! I'm sure he does have... talent. But the fact remains his family are a drawback."  
  
"Do you have any suggestions?" Tseng inquired.  
  
"We do." Heidegger leaned back in his chair and contemplated Tseng. "Hojo believes he can utilise a new science technique to eliminate the attachment to anything except Shinra and the Turks. It's all a bit complicated" Heidegger frowned "But President Shin-Ra has given the go-ahead for the procedure to be performed on Reno Denli. Problem solved – and we don't need to worry about a repeat of the last incident then either."  
  
"Yes sir. Will Rude be undergoing this procedure as well?"  
  
"Kya-ha-ha-ha! No, Rude's psychological profile suggests him as being a stable, loyal employee. We will simply have normal training for him."  
  
"Very well."  
  
"Tell Reno to report to Hojo then." Heidegger stood, and looked hard at Tseng. "If the technique fails you must kill him, understand?"  
  
"Sir." Tseng saluted.  
  
"Gya-aha-ha! Dismissed!"  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Hojo felt the edge of the scalpel, the sharp edge bringing a single drop of crimson blood that beaded and slid down the shiny, slippery surface. Wiping it clean on an antiseptic towel, he turned to the animal strapped to the table. It had been a bird, but having been infused with Mako it had grown abnormally large and a strange mutated lump had started developing along it's spinal cord. Hojo intended to cut it out and study it, to discover if it had purpose, and if so what the purpose of it was.  
  
He was interrupted by someone knocking on his door. Setting aside his scalpel with a sigh, he turned to see who it was.  
  
"um.. Hi? I'm er... looking for Hojo..." Reno stared at the bird.  
  
"I am Hojo." The scientist regarded the Turk through his glasses. His white lab coat and pallid skin had been shaded green by the light being given off by the Mako containers in the room. The flickering light lent the scientist a "mad doctor" look, not helped by the strapped and mutated bird, the caged animals, the beakers of chemicals and the strange metal container in the centre of the room.  
  
'I'm sure he's very nice really', Reno thought.  
  
"Hi Hojo. I'm Reno. I've been told to see you. I hope you know why 'cause I sure don't. The guys round here like keeping everything secret and hush hush."  
  
"I know why you've been sent here." Hojo unstrapped the bird and placed it in an empty cage. It gave a mild, drug-dazed squawk of protest. "Lie on the table."  
  
"Okaaaaaay, I think there's been a mistake somewhere. Ya see I ain't a lab animal. So no lying on scary looking tables for me today, thanks all the same."  
  
"Do you think you have a choice?" Hojo's voice was flat, but there was an almost sibilant undertone to it. His hands were filling a hypodermic needle with an opaque yellow liquid.  
  
"Well, yeah. They wouldn't make me a Turk so some science dude could try and find a cure for cancer on me."  
  
"Lie down." Hojo raised the hypodermic needle. "This isn't medicine. This is art."  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Rude pummelled the punchbag. Anger at his embarrassing performance against Reno burned deep, but to the other people in the room he appeared expressionless, punching the bag with a robotic rhythm.  
  
After Tseng had made the decision to make Reno a Turk he had ordered Rude to take him through the whole process, a guided tour, introduction to the Turks, and equipping him with standard issue items.  
  
After Rude had performed that task Tseng had then ordered Reno to see Hojo. Rude recalled his own Mako infusion from SOLDIER. It had increased his strength and stamina. He assumed Reno was getting the same treatment. 'He held his own without Mako. Will this make him a better fighter than me?' The feelings he felt towards the redhead confused him. At first he had thought him annoying. Then he had felt sorry for him. Then he had been impressed by his fighting ability, but had assumed he could still beat him easily. Then the whole sorry scenario in Tseng's office had occurred and what he felt was –  
  
"It's just jealously, that's all." The female guard who was also training in the gym spoke to her friend, a secretary who liked to hang around making pert comments about the men working out.  
  
"I know what you mean."  
  
"I know I'm a better fighter than she is – that's why I got accepted into the army, and she didn't. But why should that affect our friendship? It's not like I'm the one at fault here! I mean I hate to sound bitchy but she's not exactly the brightest spark is she? Bit of an airhead really."  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"Well, if she can't accept that the problem between us is her, not me, I really don't see how we can stay friends. Ya know?"  
  
"Mm, yeah. It's a tricky problem... I remember I went through a similar thing once..."  
  
Rude phased the voices out. Stopping the punch-bag mid-swing, he left the gym.  
  
1 'Is it jealousy?'  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
The sky. It filled his view, a great arc of nothingness. Vertigo threatened him, he could feel nausea and dizziness stealing his consciousness away. But he couldn't pull himself from the great grey sweeps of mist and smoke, the battling yellow-tinged clouds, the heaving turbulence of empty air, pushed into a frenzy by an invisible force that battered at the sky, screaming with rage, even as it tore the mists apart and flung the pieces around.  
  
"Sweet Holy.... It's so different to what I expected..."  
  
He had stood and stared at it for an hour, lost in its mystery. The people around had continued their lives, ignoring the sight of the awe-stricken slum-dweller who had come up. They had become used to the people who came up on a one day pass to apply for the Shinra army – the only real way out of the slums. Emerging from the train station, they all exhibited the same behaviour. It happened so frequently that the upper-plate citizens had termed the people "sky-spaced."  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Pain. Pain that rushed through his veins. Even unconscious he tried to pull himself away from the source, but the straps, capable of holding down 12 foot tall monsters, held him firmly in place.  
  
His mother. Her face twisted, strange, mutated.  
  
His sister. A changeling. Abnormal.  
  
His two brothers. Mocking, sharp, sliced.  
  
Pain.  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
The sky again. Pain dissolved into euphoria. He could feel the wind, it pushed at him, not hard, but playful. Everything about him was good, the people were golden gods, shining, sparkling with goodness and beauty and love.  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
"Mum...."  
  
The word brought on another burst of pain. His mind, attempting to shield itself from the agony, pushed the word away, downwards. Deep into the subconscious. With the word went the concept, the idea. Everything associated with the word "mum" disappeared into the churning void.  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
The sky. It shielded a perfect world. A perfect city. Powered by green light, suspended in the air. Hiding the dirt, the mud, the hunched diseased ugly drunks and junkies and whores and pimps. Protecting the beautiful and the innocent and the loving.  
  
He wanted to protect it. Protect the city. Protect the sky.  
  
At the centre of the city. A great spike of a building that stood proudly, reaching up to the sky as if to meet with it.  
  
"Shin-Ra...."  
  
The word triggered another rush of euphoria. Shin-Ra was good. Shin-Ra was proud. Shin-Ra held the city up, kept it floating, kept the light flowing.  
  
"Shin-Ra...." Love replaced the euphoria. He would protect the city, keep it up. As a part of Shin-Ra.  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Hojo glanced at the computer screen. A zigzag line crossed it, bursts of activity in the brain producing sharp falls and rises in the line. The line was currently fairly level, about two-thirds of the screen up. Hojo nodded to himself and turned away from the screen.  
  
Glancing across at the table, where Reno was strapped, Hojo felt the flicker of hate that came more and more easily these days. The man that lay unconscious with a blissful expression on his face reminded Hojo too much of another man. They shared little similarity in looks, a certain smooth attractiveness, a certain underlying charm was all. But Hojo needed very little to remind him.  
  
Picking up the scalpel he had tested earlier, Hojo approached the man. Resting the scalpel on one smooth cheek he allowed himself to apply just enough pressure. Blood welled up over the edge of the cut, slipping down the contours of the face and staining the table below. He drew a line with the scalpel edge that led from just to the side and under the eye down across the raised bump of the cheek and stopping just as it reached the hollow to the side of the nose. Raising the scalpel and allowing the blood to drip off its smooth surface, he slid one finger across the cut, smudging the blood across the face.  
  
He then repeated the process for the other cheek, creating a perfectly symmetrical cut that marred the otherwise unblemished skin.  
  
Behind the glasses his eyes flashed, remembering another place, another time.  
  
"Not so pretty now, eh Valentine?"  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
President Shin-Ra was once again listening to opera music. He was once again gazing out over the city he shaped. Heidegger wondered if he was looking at the newly finished reactor which had been built in sector six. Work had proceeded well, despite the complaints of the people of the sector six slums.  
  
"Sir! I am happy to report the Turks are once again a functioning unit! You can utilise them again any time you wish - Gya-ha-ha!"  
  
"Hmm."  
  
Heidegger blinked. He had expected slightly more enthusiasm.  
  
"Where do we go from here Heidegger?"  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"We've done it. Midgar is nearly finished. We now have a monopoly on the power resources of the world. We're rich, powerful.... what's next?"  
  
"Uh.... " Heidegger tried to think of a response. "There's always the Promised Land? Gya-ha-ha?"  
  
"Hmm – you're right. We'll put Tseng on to trying to capture that Ancient, whatever her name is." President Shin-Ra smiled "Remember – there's always somewhere higher to reach. Thank you Heidegger."  
  
"Gya-ha-ha-ha! Sir!" Heidegger saluted and left.  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
A/N: Well, I warned ya. Plot and character. The brainwashing technique Hojo uses has Freudian overtones – you can blame my Psychology class for that. Not really humorous, unless you find scientific madness funny ^^;; I'll try and keep the balance between humour/action and angst/introspection for future chapters, let me know if it ever gets too heavy. And thanks for all the reviews they're very motivating!  
  
Oh, and if you're wondering about my use of Shinra/Shin-Ra it alters depending on which character is the focus... just another way of me trying to develop their personalities. I'll be doing something similar with Aeris/Aerith so don't flame me about mixing them up. Thanks! ^_^ 


	5. Explosion

The Last of an Elite  
  
Chapter Five: Explosion  
  
By InterfaceLeader  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
"Hee hee hee"  
  
Aeris covered her mouth to stifle her laughter as she watched Tseng hunt for her. The church was a large building and contained plenty of hidey- holes. It was taking Tseng a while and she could tell his heart wasn't in it. He thought she'd gone, obviously.  
  
'Stupid guy....' she thought affectionately. Tseng had been trying to catch her on and off for a few years, and it had taken on a game-like Tom and Jerry feel to her. Sometime she suspected he made it deliberately easy for her. At other times she thought herself wonderfully smart for outwitting the Shinra man so often. Either way she felt no danger as she peeked downwards from her hiding place at the dark haired man below.  
  
1 'No! Never!'  
  
Her own words came back to her from the first time she had met him. He had scared her then, with his talk of Ancients and voices. He had wanted her to go with him, but she had ran out of the room.  
  
'He didn't actually try to stop me' she thought. 'He probably didn't – and doesn't - care all that much about catching me.'  
  
She saw Tseng turn and head out of the church, clearly having given up. Crawling out of her hiding place she bounced happily back to her flowers.  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
"Hey Rude!"  
  
Rude turned uncertainly towards the voice. 'Where'd he get those scars from all of a sudden?' he wondered.  
  
"Look what I can do!" Reno grinned and held up his hands. "Neo-Turk-Light!"  
  
Rude watched impassively as the powerful electrical spell smashed into the wall next to him, reducing it to rubble. The employees working in the room behind looked round in amazement as the flickering blue light died away, leaving them staring at two blue-suited men.  
  
Reno blinked. "Woah. I didn't know it would do that."  
  
"What the hell happened to the wall?" One of the employees came up to the wreckage and touched it, receiving a static discharge in the process. "Ow!"  
  
"St Elmo's fire." Reno told the man authoritatively "Something you need to watch for."  
  
"St Elmo's fire....? I thought that only happened on ships?"  
  
"Ships and in high-up – " Reno glanced at the sign on the door "Tax Exemption Officers rooms."  
  
"You have to be kidding...."  
  
"Nope, we were just coming down here to warn you actually, and do some research." Reno drew a thin metal rod Rude hadn't seen before and tapped the rubble thoughtfully. "Yep, that's St. Elmo's fault alright. We'd better evacuate the room. All you guys can take a half day."  
  
"Uh... Thank you sir!" The employee had enough sense not to argue with that. Behind him the rest of the employees all started cheering and packing up. Rude watched as they streamed out of the door and down the corridor.  
  
"........."  
  
"Phew, that was close. Want to go grab a drink?"  
  
"We're on duty."  
  
"Nah, totally not a problem. Tseng's disappeared on some wild goose chase. Heidegger's chewing out some of the guards and is gonna call a suprise inspection. We've got plenty of time to slip down the bar and chug a few. I want to check out the rich-man's booze anyway. See if it's any better than the paint thinner we get downstairs." Reno winked, and grabbed the bald man by the elbow, trying to pull him down the corridor. Rude stood and looked at him, refusing to be pulled.  
  
"We're on duty."  
  
"Ok.... I heard you the first time." Reno sighed "Man, you're stiff. Loosen up will ya? No one's gonna notice if we miss a few hours. We might as well sit around on our asses in a bar as sit around on our asses in an office right?"  
  
"We're on duty."  
  
"Argh! You are so frikkin' obstinate!" Reno rammed Rude as hard as he could in the chest, trying to push him down the corridor. Rude responded by staring into the distance, ignoring the redhead straining to move him.  
  
Reno gave up and flopped against the wall, forgetting he had blasted it out earlier and falling through. Rude hid a smile.  
  
"Ah crap....." Reno climbed back to his feet and shrugged. "We'll stay here and drink then" He produced a flask from his back pocket and unscrewed the top. "Here's to booze." He swigged from the container and grinned at Rude. "Want some?"  
  
Rude accepted the flask without comment and drank from it. The alcohol inside was strong, and a sudden streak of machismo cause him to upend the entire contents of it down his throat. He handed the empty flask back to Reno.  
  
"Thanks"  
  
Reno examined the container. ".Well... Remind me to never offer you a drink again."  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Time passed, as it always does. Midgar gained it's eighth and final reactor. The city had come to the end of it's master plan, now there remained only the usual day-to-day maintenance and extension. The world was - on the surface – at peace. The Shin-Ra army settled into a routine and gradually the numbers of people applying dwindled. Slum-dwellers came up less and less often. They missed the slow growth in prosperity and opulence on the top plate. The Shin-Ra building gained more stories, off-limits to most personnel. The buildings round about got taller, more ornate, and more expensive.  
  
Beneath the plate the opposite was true. Buildings slid into disrepair and were botched back together using scrap. A rising tide of dirt engulfed the streets and walls, gradually dying everything a grimy grey-green. The only light was from the Mako-powered flood lights provided by Shin-Ra and as the funds spent on the slums got turned elsewhere they slowly dimmed and flickered. Trains ran less often as the contact between the two halves of the city choked, and disused trains were dumped into the "train graveyard".  
  
It was peaceful – on the surface. Below the surface deep undercurrents of hate and resentment joined together, gaining power, biding their time....  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Don't be fooled by Shinra! Mako energy doesn't last forever! Mako is the planet's lifesource! The end is in sight!  
  
Protectors of the planet: AVALANCHE  
  
"Who the hell are Avalanche?"  
  
Rude frowned at Reno. The five years that had passed since their first meeting had forged something resembling friendship between the two but sometimes Rude still got annoyed by the smaller man's irreverent attitude towards the less interesting parts of his job. Rude respected Reno's fighting skills, but not his laziness.  
  
"Terrorists." He said.  
  
"Terrorists?" Reno raised an eyebrow "Leaving nasty graffiti doesn't make them terrorists ya know. We'll just put them on community service, and have them scrub it off."  
  
Tseng frowned "They are terrorists. We don't know who they are, or where they're based – "  
  
"Great! Catching them should be a breeze then!" Reno interrupted sarcastically  
  
"But they have been responsible for some minor incidents. A few isolated explosions, not against any major targets. They're an irritation, but they don't concern us currently."  
  
"So why bring it up?"  
  
"So that you're aware of them. Now, I'm reassigning certain tasks. Reno you've been taken off Tax Evasions – "  
  
"Yay!"  
  
"And you're now trying to capture the Ancient - Aerith. We have some records on her, and I suggest you try the Sector Five Church first. You can take some Shinra Guards with you."  
  
"Oh man.... Not her... If you can't catch her how'm I supposed to?"  
  
Tseng turned to Rude, but before he could say anything a security light suddenly started flashing from a yellow and black panel in one corner of the room. An oscillating whine filled the air at the same time.  
  
"What the hell...?" Reno glanced towards the light  
  
"..........."  
  
Tseng turned on the communication lines that joined the Turks office to the security centre. An alert voice filled the room.  
  
"Sir! There's been a security breach of the No. 1 Reactor!"  
  
"What kind of breach?"  
  
"It appears a group of people entered the reactor and set off an explosive device. The reactor is currently off-line and we have to wait for Reeve to deliver a full damage report before we can make any more assumptions."  
  
"What happened to the Guard Scorpion?" Tseng inquired, referring to the robotic security guard that formed part of the defence of each reactor.  
  
"It's been completely destroyed sir. Any surveillance footage will have been lost."  
  
"Anything else to report?"  
  
"Yes sir! It appears a group known as Avalanche is claiming responsibility for the explosion."  
  
"Avalanche hmm? Very well, get me the full report as soon as possible." Tseng cut the communication line off.  
  
"I guess they just went from being an irritation to being a concern huh?" said Reno.  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
A/N: Yes we're getting into the actual game now so you know the storyline – but I have no intention of rehashing what you already know. The scenes with the Turks will be in here, as well as all the background stories you never got shown in the game ^_~ Keep reviewing, I'll take all comments into consideration.  
  
Also, I must thank Little Chiba for creating a complete transcript of the whole game – making my life a lot easier ^_^ Visit http://www.sapphirewired.com/caffeine/bombshelter/ for the script. 


	6. Ancient Flowers

The Last of an Elite  
  
Chapter Six: Ancient Flowers  
  
By InterfaceLeader  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
"Very well. Let us review.... Reeve?"  
  
The head of the City Planning and Development section looked up. Tiredness and worry had put lines into his face and streaked bags under his eyes. Despite the exhaustion in his face however, he still retained a clearness and innocence in his eyes that seemed oddly out of place in the Shin-Ra board room.  
  
"The reactor was completely destroyed. There's no chance we can repair it – our only option is to tear it down and rebuild it from scratch."  
  
"Heidegger?"  
  
"Gya-Ha-Ha! The terrorist group AVALANCHE is claiming responsibility. We have no idea who they are, or where they are."  
  
"Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to deal with this threat?" President Shin-Ra looked around at his assembled staff. There was Heidegger and Scarlet to his right, both paying close attention to him. Also on that side was Palmer, who was making "bub bub" noises under his breath and nodding his head vaguely.  
  
To his left sat Reeve, who had his head bowed and was flipping through paper nervously. His nervousness may have been caused by the fact he was sat next to Hojo, who was staring at the President blankly, his eyes hidden by a sharp reflection on his glasses.  
  
"Kya-ha-ha-ha! I have a suggestion President!" Scarlet leaned forward across the desk, her low cut dress causing Reeve to blush and turn his eyes towards the ceiling. "They have struck once – they will strike again. And when they do... we set the newly developed "Airbuster" techno-soldiers on them. It will be an excellent way of testing their ability. And we have enough to cover every reactor, Kya-ha-ha!"  
  
Palmer suddenly looked up, eyes wide "They're going to strike again??"  
  
Scarlet turned to him impatiently "Almost certainly. They will believe they know our security measures and so forth – and they will assume we will not know where they'll strike next. They have a choice of seven reactors, how could we hope to increase the security on all of them?" Scarlet smiled "But the "Airbuster" will be all the increased defence we will need. Kya-ha-ha!"  
  
"A sound plan. Does anyone have anything to add?" President Shin-Ra looked round the group. When no-one answered him he spoke again. "I intend to meet with this so-called "Avalanche". Do not destroy them until I have had that chance. And put extra guards on each reactor as well, we can always spare men after all."  
  
"Gya-ha ha-ha-ha! Certainly sir!" Heidegger saluted.  
  
"Good. Dismissed."  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Thunk!  
  
The dart hit the board dead-centre. It's tail-end stuck out, quivering slightly. It was surrounded by little holes. There were notably less holes outside of the centre circle.  
  
The board was not hung in a pub. Rather it had been placed on the back of a pastel blue door, in a pale and spacious blue room. It was a tidy room, if you ignored the stuffed animals that covered the bed, and the punch bag that hung in one corner of the rectangular space. A hunting rifle leant against the wall on one side of the punch bag, and a vanity-table sat on the other. The vanity table had ordered rows of make-up, mostly of the frosted pink type.  
  
Thunk!  
  
Another dart joined its partner in the centre of the board.  
  
Thunk!  
  
And a third.  
  
Having come to the end of her supply of darts, Elena fell back on to the bed and stared at the pale blue ceiling.  
  
'It's not fair....' she thought. 'How did she make it into the army and not me? I know I'm a better fighter! I could beat her with my eyes shut!'  
  
Elena simply couldn't understand. She was strong, regular workouts at both the exclusive gym she had joined and in her own room and given a wiry frame stronger than many men she knew. She was fast, able to run a mile in under four minutes according to the electronic running machine at the gym. She could fight, having been formally trained in several schools of martial arts since her youth. She could shoot, constant practising at a nearby firing range had developed her natural skill.  
  
'Why the hell won't they let me in!?'  
  
She closed her eyes, recalling the reason she had trained so long and so hard to get into the Shinra Guards.  
  
It had been at one of President Shin-Ra's speeches, given upon the completion of the eighth reactor. She had attended, out of a vague feeling of patriotism. President Shin-Ra had stood up above everyone else, on a metal stage. He had held Elena's attention for almost fifteen minutes before his flat droning about accomplishment and the dawn of new eras had driven her eyes elsewhere, wandering around the stage until they noted a sombre looking man in a blue suit standing at the rear of the stage. Even at that distance she had felt something inside her melt, everything else around her fading into a haze.  
  
When the President had left the stage she had run round to the back, desperate for a closer look at the stranger. Finding herself hemmed in by reporters and photographers she had resorted to violence, punching her way through the crowd. She reached the front just as they emerged, and the stranger passed her no more than a foot from her face. His easy, silent movement, his sophisticated look, his clear grey eyes that seemed aware of everything around him... Elena knew instantly that this was love.  
  
Unfortunately, he hadn't seen her. And although she had taken to haunting every Shin-Ra speech and event since then, she hadn't seen him again either. She had searched the Shin-Ra files, but found no record of any employee that matched the mans description.  
  
So she had decided to join the army, or the peace preservation forces as they were known now. She had applied feeling absolutely certain she would get in.  
  
She hadn't. The Guard who had looked her over said she didn't have the strength.  
  
She tried a second time, after some of the most intense body building exercises she had found. This Guard told her she didn't have the balance.  
  
Elena was certain she could walk a high-wire without a problem.  
  
She tried a third time. She was refused due to having coughed whilst filling out her application form.  
  
Her best friend, a woman five years older, applied and got in first time. Elena had applied at the same time. She had been turned down. No reason was given.  
  
Elena was not happy.  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Reno regarded the slum buildings around him with distaste. For some unknown reason coming below the plate always made him feel slightly nauseous. He knew it wasn't due to the poverty that existed down here, going to similar places in Junon and so forth didn't affect him in the slightest. He had spent a week in North Corel, one of the poorest places in the world, and had felt fine. He suspected it had something to with having lived here, although he had only the haziest memories of his life pre-Turks. Whenever he tried to think about it a shadow came down on his mind. 'Must have been bad' he thought.  
  
He was accompanied by three Shinra Guards, moving after him in step with each other.  
  
Above him he heard a sudden explosion, and looking up he saw through the gaps in the plate a great fountain of fire and smoke shoot out of the number five reactor.  
  
The guards behind him looked up as well, and made varying noises of suprise. They hadn't been informed of the trap President Shin-Ra had set. Reno guessed the terrorists were toast by now.  
  
"aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"  
  
Reno blinked as a figure suddenly fell from the skies and crashed through the roof of the building in front of him.  
  
"Okay. Someone decided to get suicidal." He regarded the building, shaking his head. It was the sector five church, the building he had come down to investigate, looking for the Ancient. It now sported a brand new hole in the roof, but since it was pretty dilapidated already it didn't affect it's appearance much.  
  
"Stay out here." he told the three guards. "I need to see if she's in there. No point scaring her off with all of us going in."  
  
He strolled through the ornate open door and looked down the church. Two figures stood next to a large flower bed. One was clearly the Ancient, she matched Tseng's description exactly, from the clunky boots to the long plaited brown hair. She was talking to a man with immensely spiky blond hair and a massive sword.  
  
'Someone has self-esteem problems' Reno thought, smirking as he looked at the huge sword and gravity-defying spikes. He moved closer to hear what they were talking about. He didn't see any sign of the figure who fell through the roof, although the hole was obvious.  
  
'Tell me it wasn't him.... No-one could fall from that height and survive!'  
  
"....We don't know each other's names do we? My name is – I'm Aeris, the flower girl. Nice to meet you." The Ancient smiled at the spiky haired guy.  
  
"The names Cloud. Me.....? I do a little bit of everything."  
  
'Like fall great heights and survive... ya know, the usual.' Reno filled in silently.  
  
"Oh... A jack of all trades."  
  
"Yeah, I do whatever's needed"  
  
'But do you fix roofs?' Reno wondered.  
  
The Ancient laughed, and Reno wondered if her thoughts were running along similar lines as his.  
  
"What's so funny? What are you laughing at?" The guy sounded both confused and annoyed. 'She's laughing at you, moron. Who wouldn't?'  
  
"Sorry... I just.... "  
  
Suddenly they both noticed him, and Reno noted with amusement the sudden flush of embarrassment on the blonde's face.  
  
The Ancient turned to the guy. "Sorry.... bad timing on my part." He ignored her, moving towards Reno instead, who watched the guy – Cloud – approach, keeping his expression carefully neutral.  
  
The Ancient called after him "Cloud! Don't let it get to you!". Cloud turned back to her. Reno debated calling in the guards and ending the conversation, but curiosity kept him there.  
  
"Say Cloud... have you ever been a bodyguard?" The Ancient gave a half glance towards Reno as she said that, and Reno wondered if she suspected anything. "You DO do everything right?"  
  
"Yeah, that's right." Cloud passed a hand across his hair.  
  
'Not sounding too cocky here, are we?' Reno shook his head at the transparent insecurity of the man.  
  
"Then, get me out of here. Take me home." The Ancient smiled at the blonde.  
  
"OK, I'll do it.... but it'll cost ya."  
  
"Well then, let's see.... How about if I go out with you once?"  
  
'Hello! I'm desperate!' Reno decided they were both hopeless.  
  
Cloud nodded. If he thought the Ancient's tactic's were too forward he made no mention of it, instead he turned back to Reno, who couldn't help but give him a sardonic look.  
  
Then their eyes met. Reno blinked at the sheer intensity of the mans gaze. Sharp blue eyes stared at him.  
  
"I don't know who you are, but......" The man stopped, and Reno saw the sharpness cloud over slightly "You don't know me......?......... I know you...."  
  
'Huh?' Reno thought intelligently.  
  
"Oh yeah... I know you." The man's eyes suddenly regained their sharpness. "That uniform...."  
  
Reno heard three sets of running footsteps and realised the guards had joined him. 'oh well.... this guy probably ain't important anyway'.  
  
"Hey, sis, this one's a little weird." He heard one Shinra Guard say to another. In front of him the man suddenly jerked back, one hand clenched.  
  
"Shut up! You Shinra spy!"  
  
"Reno! Want him taken out?" The same guard leaned forward eagerly. Reno looked back at Cloud's eyes. For some reason a feeling of recognition nagged at him.  
  
"I haven't decided yet."  
  
"Don't fight here! You'll ruin the flowers!" The Ancient ran towards the rear of the room, where a small door waited. "The exit's back here!"  
  
The guy nodded briefly and turned from Reno. They both headed through the door, and Reno strolled after them, barely noticing the flowers beneath his feet, trying to work out why those eyes were recognisable.  
  
"They were.... Mako eyes." He said out loud. 'He must have been exposed to a hell of a lot....A SOLDIER maybe?' He shook his head, driving the thoughts away. "Yeah, all right. Back to work." He passed through the door, but then a sudden thought struck him and he turned back to the Shinra Guards.  
  
"And don't step on the flowers..."  
  
The guards all stared at him. "Hey Reno, you just stepped on them!" "They're all ruined!" "You're going to catch holy hell!" They chorused in unison. Reno sighed. Sometimes people just didn't seem to realise being a Turk meant you could walk over any damn flower bed you pleased.  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
A/N: Ended it there since it was getting way too long. It's amazingly hard to work around pre-written dialogue. I can't decide if this chapter needs a rethink or not. Tell me if you like it and I'll start on the next one. If it sucks though I'll re-do it from a different angle. ^_~  
  
Oh yeah, if you noticed the foreshadowing for Elena in previous chapters, good on ya ^_^ 


	7. Squash the Guard

The Last of an Elite  
  
Chapter Seven: Squash the Guard  
  
By InterfaceLeader  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
The computer monitor flickered. Although the huge windows faced the sunlight, the thick dark green-black clouds that covered the sky prevented much natural light getting into the office, and the screen provided a white- blue light that contrasted strangely with the subtle green haze from the window. The two separate light sources threw angular highlights onto Tseng's long dark hair, and gave his skin deep colourful shadows.  
  
There was a whirr, and the Ancient's files appeared on the screen. A single photo, fuzzy and out-of-focus. Tseng has no idea who had taken it, or why. All the information they had on her, profile, addresses, history, the text flowed in a long block down the screen. Tseng didn't read it, he'd already memorised everything important there. Instead he prepared to transfer the file over to Reno's area.  
  
Tseng has no doubt Reno would be able to catch her. He himself could have caught her long ago, if he'd tried. Her face stared out of the screen at him. Despite the bad quality of the picture she still managed to radiate good will and happiness. Her head was turned slightly, and she seemed to have been caught whilst talking. Her long brown hair streamed in a wind, all frozen movement.  
  
'You were fated, because of your birth, to be hunted down. Fated to become an experiment, your humanity itself to be stripped from you. Fated to becoming another tool of Shin-Ra' Tseng's hand brushed his forehead, fingers momentarily obscuring the dot that had been tattooed on their long ago.  
  
"I know how it feels to be fated due to being born to the wrong people at the wrong time" Tseng said to the picture. "I escaped – I always hoped you would too."  
  
He shook his head, clearing away his thoughts. He hit the return key, and the file disappeared, the computer hummed gently as it moved the information.  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
Another computer, half a city away, also hummed gently. Elena grinned to herself as her fingers brushed the keys. 'I'll find out who you are, you dark mysterious stranger' she thought, as she bypassed the security locking Shin-Ra's top files away. Several taps later she found what she was looking for.  
  
TOP SECRET PERSONNEL FILES – FOR HEAD EMPLOYEES EYES ONLY  
  
Please enter your username and password.  
  
Elena picked up the phone on the desk.  
  
"Hello Hello?"  
  
"Palmer?"  
  
"It's Palmer! Hi! Hi! Um... Who is this??"  
  
"I'm President Shin-Ra's new secretary" Elena lied easily "He's busy right now, and I need to access some files for him in the confidential area. I haven't got a username yet, and he needs these files urgently! Everyone always says you're the one to turn to if there's a problem, because you're so level-headed."  
  
"They say that!? Wow! What do you need?"  
  
"Could I possibly use your name and pass? Just to get these files?"  
  
"Well, sure! Why not!"  
  
"Really!? Thanks sir! What is your name and pass?"  
  
"Palm_Tree23 and my password is lard" Palmer giggled down the phone "You'll mention this to the President right? Right?"  
  
"Of course sir. Thanks very much for helping!" Elena hung up quickly, and smiled to herself. "Now let's see...."  
  
She entered the information, and quickly examined the files there. There was very few once she'd ruled out people who had left or died and the heads of the divisions. Clicking through the remaining files rapidly, she finally opened the one she wanted. A photo of the dark-haired Wutaian man looked out at her, eyes deep and introspective. She read the information to the side of the photo quickly, her heart racing.  
  
"His name's Tseng" She said dreamily, feeling the foreign sound fill her mouth. "And let see.... he's a ..... A Turk? What the hell is a Turk? I thought he was a bodyguard or something." She frowned at the word, and quickly searched for more information. The word threw up cross-references in a large number of files, scientific, military, and several project files. She started reading them, her eyes slowly widening.  
  
....reporting that the progress on TURK Vincent Valentine's transformation into chaos demon is nearly complete....  
  
....Assassinations of certain high-ranking Wutai officials have been carried out by the TURKs.....  
  
....TURK Reno Denli's treatment has been completed, he is now able to perform acts of violence without guilt....  
  
....The kidnapping of the officials 8 year old daughter was carried out by TURK Rude Jacques...  
  
....three children were caught in the crossfire between the TURK grouping and the rebel group...  
  
...ten civilians died in an anti-terrorist action completed by the TURKs...  
  
....sorry to report that TURK actions led to the suicide of Drekanov....  
  
"Uh... what is all this?" Elena shivered. An image of Tseng's shadowy eyes came back to her, and she felt something inside her harden. "I don't care if he is involved in stuff like this! He didn't look evil... And Shinra isn't evil! I'm sure there's reasons for all of this happening!" Elena jumped to her feet suddenly, a look of determination coming into her eyes "I'm going to be a Turk too! I don't care how hard it is or what they do... I want to meet him face to face!"  
  
She stood there for a moment, fists clenched. Then she sagged back down, her shoulders slumping. "But I don't know how!"  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
"There they are, over there!" Reno pointed up towards Aeris and Cloud, who were stood by a break in a walkway that led upwards towards the roof. There was a huge hole in the roof as well as several floors, and for some reason a missile had buried itself in the ground below. Above them, Cloud jumped across the hole, and indicated for the Ancient to follow. Reno suddenly realised the guards that had followed him through were simply standing and watching them.  
  
"The Ancient is getting away! Attack! Attack! Attack!" he yelled. The guards blinked, and then started firing up at the two. The bullets thudded into the walkway, kicking up a fair amount of dust and debris, Reno heard a yelp and saw Aeris fall, passing his level and landing on the one below. She sprawled out, unmoving.  
  
"Think we killed 'em?" Reno had a sudden vision of trying to explain to Tseng how a kidnapping had ended up as a murder and cringed mentally "They shouldn't have put up a fight I say!"  
  
"Cloud help!" The Ancient jumped to her feet and shouted up to the man above. He disappeared from Reno's sight, and Reno swore gently, guessing that he was coming down. The guards hurried to apprehend the Ancient, the first cutting her off as she tried to run towards the stairs.  
  
"Cloud!"  
  
THUNK! A barrel came crashing down from the ceiling, landing neatly on the guards head. He promptly collapsed, either dead or unconscious. 'Either way he isn't much help' thought Reno, watching as the next guard leapt in the Ancients way.  
  
THUNK! Another barrel came plummeting down, smacking the guard flat. Reno groaned. The third guard disregarded the sudden absence of his fellow fighters and raced to intercept the girl.  
  
THUNK! The barrel bounced down the stairs and smashed into the guard, knocking him out of Reno's sight.  
  
"Thanks Cloud!" The Ancient raced up the rest of the walkway and disappeared into the rooftop. Reno waited, but no further barrels fell, so he strolled over to the first fallen guard and poked him with his toe. The guard groaned.  
  
"That was pathetic." Reno him.  
  
"Uh... What happened?"  
  
"You got into a fight with a barrel and lost." Reno looked round as the other two guards got up and knocked the dust off themselves. "Do you guys have any idea what Tseng's gonna do to me for this little fiasco!? If my pay gets docked again I am so gonna kick your weedy little asses."  
  
"Sorry Reno..."  
  
"Yeah, whatever. Come on, let's get outta this dump."  
  
-~-~-~-  
  
A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter, I suffered from a bout of writers block, trying to figure out the best way to structure this _;; It doesn't help that I've been drowned in schoolwork! Ah, excuses excuses. I'll try and get the next chapter up a bit quicker. Thanks to the people who reviewed, keep 'em coming! ^_^ 


	8. Invasion of the Short Blonde Girl

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Eight: Invasion of the Short Blonde Girl.

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

"Whatcha building honey?"

Reeve looked up guiltily. The half built robot-cat sat in front of him, its guts strewn about the worktable. 

"A.... personal project is it?" Scarlet allowed her crimson lips to curve into a seductive smile, whilst her mind trying to work out an advantage to finding the usually irreproachable man breaking Shin-Ra policy. 

"No- No, it's uh...." Reeve stammered, trying to think of some reason he would be building a cat in the tech lab during the early hours of the morning.

"Shhh" Scarlet moved past him and examined the robot. "A cat? How - cute. I've no doubt it will become a weapon of enormous power."

"It's not a weapon.... It's... just a remote-controlled toy really. I finished late, and I didn't want to go to sleep in my office... I thought I'd...um... improve my practical skills...." Reeve's voice slowly died away. He watched as the woman picked up the control unit and examined it. She tapped one lengthy red nail against it thoughtfully.

"Hmm. No real offensive capabilities here. But..." An idea suggested itself to her, and she turned back to Reeve, holding the control unit towards him "We could extend the range on this thing. It wouldn't be hard to install an auto-pilot of sorts. There's a fair few places Shin-Ra are - less than welcome. We could send this thing in, get it to listen in on the meetings they hold _without_ our representatives."

"Turn Cait Sith into a spy!?" Reeve took a step back, and looked at her with open eyes. "No! He's just an innocent little toy!"

"Nobody and nothing is innocent." Scarlet leaned forward and tapped the nervous man in the centre of his chest. "This 'toy' you've built could be useful... very useful."

Reeve watched blankly as the woman dropped the unit and strolled back out the room, pausing briefly to flick a curly strand of golden hair back over her shoulder and give him an intense look. Shaking his head he looked down at the cogs and wires scattered around. 

"Does everything I build end up with a different purpose to what I meant?" He asked the cat. It looked up at him and smiled. "Tell your fortune?"

-~-~-~-

Elena took a deep breath, pulling herself up as straight as she could. She was wearing the closest she could manage to city-camouflage. Loose grey cotton trousers, a darker grey jumper, her blond hair covered with a grey hat. Black gloves and black sneakers finished the outfit. She had traded the hunting rifle for a more utilitarian pistol, a Browning. She was hoping she wouldn't have to use it – she doubted the blanks it was loaded with would scare members of SOLDIER. 

She was standing at the foot of a flight of stairs which she knew from studying the building plans led up to the 59th floor. Adrenaline was pumping round her body, but she forced herself to breathe normally, carefully reviewing her plan.

OK. I get up as far as I can without being seen. When I reach the floor with the Turks office I attack some guards, and – hopefully – win the fight, thus showing off my fighting abilities. But without killing any. Then the Turks come out and I explain who I am and why I attacked. They accept me as a Turk, and I'm in. Yeah.

She sighed. It had seemed like a good idea when she'd thought it up. She had even visualised the conversation, her standing there spinning the gun whilst Tseng congratulated her on becoming a member. Now she wasn't so sure.

__

I could go home and get a cup of tea and end up dreaming away my whole life. Or I can DO this.

She gritted her teeth and started running up the stairs.

-~-~-~-

Reno leant against the door. Tseng had been pretty light on the punishment, all he had to do was patrol the whole damn building checking up on every guard, soldier and monster. He'd had worse.

Lighting a cigarette he reflected on the room he was standing in. It was his favourite room in the building, mainly because it was free of surveillance cameras and no one but him ever seemed to come in here. It also had a good escape route, the flight of stairs that led out the building were always deserted.

He stretched his arms out in front of him, pushing himself back against the door, enjoying the few moments peace.

The door opened.

-~-~-~-

Elena yelled with shock as the person came through the door she had just opened. He fell right into her and she too lost her balance. They went down in a tangle of limbs and she felt herself slip over the edge of the step.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

They tumbled ungracefully down the flight of stairs, landing in a crumpled heap next to the wall. The person let loose a string of profanities that made Elena blush crimson. 

"Stop swearing! Shut up! Don't move!" She grabbed her gun and pointed it at him, shaking.

"What the f.....?" the person glared up at her out of burning turquoise eyes. Elena recognised the Mako influence in them, and then a quick survey of the rest of him caused her to click as to who it was.

"A- Are you Reno Denli?"

"Put that bloody gun away! Who the hell do you think you _are_ trying to take on the whole of Shinra by yourself!?"

"No! Do as I say – you have to take me up to the Turks office!"

-~-~-~-

Reno leapt to his feet, grabbing her wrist and forcing the gun away from him in one swift movement. The girls eyes went wide with shock as she let go of the weapon. 

"Ow! That hurt!" 

Reno grunted as he turned the gun on her. "Serves you right for trying to give me orders – I'll take you to the Turks office alright you little bitch, but you're not going to like it there."

She looked up at him, and Reno allowed himself to take a wandering glance up and down her. Big blue eyes – filled with frustration and anger at the moment but retaining an innocence that he promptly discounted. He'd seen too many innocent looking psychopaths. A few strands of blond hair that poked out haphazardly from her black hat. She was on the small side, short and slender. A good figure too, Reno let his mind switch away from business for the moment. 

"Are you quite done?" She asked icily. Reno smirked. 

"We haven't even started yet" He pointed up the stairs, keeping the muzzle of the pistol trained on her "Up you go."

She shook her head "You don't understand! I'm not an enemy!"

"Riiiight. You just snuck in here, armed, trying to kill me in the process, in order to express your undying love and loyalty to us." 

"That's it exactly!" She beamed at him. "Will you help me explain to Tseng?"

Reno stared at her. "You have to be kidding! You expect me to buy that?" He rammed the gun into her. "Up the stairs, now!" 

She crossed her arms. "No! Not until you accept that everything that happened here was an accident! I wasn't trying to kill anyone!"

"Are you crazy? _I'm_ the one with the gun here, so you don't argue with me! Get up those stairs or I'll blow your kneecaps off or something!"

She blinked. "Oh! It's only got blanks in it. I told you – I didn't want anyone to get hurt. I'm here to see Tseng and I didn't know how else to get into the building." 

Reno shoved the gun into a pocket and pulled out his electro-mag rod instead. "See this? It works like a cattle prod. For prodding cows like you! Now get up those stairs!"

Her face turned red at the insult, and she bit back whatever reply she had come up with. Turning on her heel she headed slowly up the stairs. Reno followed her up, keeping in close to her back. 

-~-~-~-

Rude sat in the 7th Heaven bar, knowing he looked out of place but not really caring. He drank vodka, waiting patiently for Tifa to return and take over the bar-keeping duties from the little girl that was currently serving him. 

Both the man with the gun for an arm and Tifa had been gone for sometime, and Rude began to wonder if he should give up and go home. He had left the Shin-Ra HQ shortly after hearing Reno's description of the man named "Cloud" during his report to Tseng. Despite the fact he was off-duty he still found himself scanning the crowd for signs of spiky blond hair. 

His PHS beeped, and he answered it, dropping Gil on the bar and leaving the well-lit room for the darker, colder street outside.

"Rude? This is Tseng. I've just received a report from the guards who were at the reactor that was hit by Avalanche last night. Apparently they all escaped, despite the presence of the Airbuster. They thought they'd got one, but Reno's description of the guy he met in the church matches too well."

"......"

"On the upside we now have a full description of all the terrorists, and there's been a number of matching files found. I want you to come back to HQ and look them over."

"Yes."

Rude snapped his PHS closed and trudged towards the train station. He felt annoyed, it was late and more than anything he just wanted to go to sleep. Or get drunk. He got onto the train, his intimidating figure clearing the carriage out in moments. Even the Shin-Ra employees who knew him left. Nobody wanted to stay around a Turk on business.

When he reached the office he paused for a moment. Some strange intuition nudged the back of his brain. Shaking his head he opened the door.

The Turks main office had been refurbished since Reno had joined a few years back. It had become more modern, a wide open space with minimalist decoration. Large windows looked out over the smoky city. There were several large desks, and towards the back was an armoured door that led into the private armoury. 

There were personnel files spread out over one of the desks. The room was currently empty, and Rude moved forward, picked up one of the files and flipped it open, idly. 

A photo slipped out, tumbled to the floor. Rude bent automatically and picked it up. No emotion crossed his face as he turned the photo right side up. He looked at it for a moment, then gently replaced it in the file and dropped it on the table.

The photo had been that of Tifa Lockheart, the woman he had been silently admiring for the past 5 years. 

-~-~-~-

Elena moved back up the stairs slowly. She had no doubt that the Turk behind her had mastered the strange weapon he was holding. However, walking into the Turks office as a captive, unable to even make it into the main building before being discovered, did not figure in her plan. 

She reached the door, still hanging open. She paused for a second, took a deep breath.

"Speed it up sweetheart." The man behind her drawled, and she could imagine the cocky smirk on his face. It gave her an added spurt of anger.

She jumped forward through the door, spinning round and slamming it shut in the suprised Turks face. He hit it a second later, and it took all her strength leaning on it to prevent it from springing back open. He slammed into it again, and she gasped as her body absorbed the shock. She looked round the room quickly and spied the chair next to the large computer system. She hooked it in with her foot and placed it in front of the door. After adding the wastepaper bin, the monitor (she was careful to unplug it first) and a number of unidentifiable objects she found scattered about, she breathed easier. 

Peeking round the opposite door she saw a number of Shinra Guards. Behind, the door was being repeatably hammered, and already the chair was being moved bit by bit across the floor. She had no time, so she threw caution to the winds and ran. 

She shot past the guards at top speed, their suprised yells punctuating the air behind her. She pushed a suprised secretary out of the way as she stood by the entrance to the stairs. A keycard was in the slot and Elena grabbed it as she sped past.

"Stop her!" 

The Turk had managed to break through. Already he was hot on her tail, the guards falling into place behind him. One of them fired a gun and the bullets slammed into the stair below her. She turned the corner, out of sight for the moment, and ran on. 

-~-~-~-

Tseng entered the office, noticing that Rude was looking through the files already. He placed the disposable cup of coffee on the edge of the table, watching the bald man thoughtfully. Tseng had learnt to read Rude's silences, and this was a heavy brooding silence that suggested he had a problem. 

"Looked at Cloud Strife's file yet?"

".....no."

"His is the most interesting. And possibly the most dangerous. Apart from anything else he's a random factor – we can't predict his motives or actions."

Rude picked up Cloud's file dutifully and glanced through the brief history. ".......Involved in the Nibelheim incident?"

"Yes. And nothing good came out of that."

"...... and Hojo ....."

"Hmm. Yes. That might explain the Mako eyes that Reno spotted. Unfortunately all of the files relating to that experiment are in Nibelheim. All we know at the moment is that it used Mako."

"What doesn't?"

"Good point. Anyway, I'd rather dispose of him quickly. The rest shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"..........I......."

Tseng raised an eyebrow as Rude struggled to find the words. Although he had never been a wordsmith he didn't usually have this much trouble. 

"....I......know.....I think... I know where they are."

"You do?" Tseng felt a flicker of hope. Maybe this mission would be easier than he had first thought. 

"Yes." Rude stared unseeing at the file. "Sector Seven."

The door crashed open. Tseng was on his feet even as the woman leapt into the room. He registered blonde hair in wild disarray, blue eyes wide with suprise and terror, a small, compact body in unassuming grey, before his reflexes kicked in and he sent her flying to the floor. She landed hard.

An entire squad of Shinra Guards, led by a furious looking Reno and followed by one of the secretaries demanding to know what was going on, spilled into the room. For a few seconds chaos reigned. Tseng had to stop Reno from mauling the floored blonde. The guards raced around, certain the building was under attack, setting up defensive posts at each window. The secretary started screaming that someone had stolen her keycard and then fainted into Rude's arms, which didn't amuse the retiring man at all.

"Everyone SHUT UP!" Tseng's voice thundered, cutting off the background noise. The secretary opened her eyes and stood up hastily. The guards took a look at Tseng's face and quickly and silently withdrew from the room. Silence descended.

"Hi Tseng! I'm Elena!" The blonde turned her face up to his with a look of pure infatuation in her eyes.

-~-~-~-

A/N: Some story, some drama, some slapstick ^_^ Hope you liked it. Next up: the plate drops, Rude battles his inner demons, and Elena gets mad. Plus I should finally get around to scanning (and plugging) the cover art I did for this fic. Stay tuned! 


	9. The Plate Drops 1

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Nine: The Plate Drops 1

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Reeve stood by his desk, shaking. Memories of the recent conversation he had with President Shin-Ra and Heidegger burned in his head, and he felt sick. 

__

"Reeve, you should flush those personal problems in the morning!" 

__

So that's it, he thought,_ all my moral objections, all my feelings, everything which makes me choose right over wrong, people over profit, sanity over madness, all that is simply a "personal problem" which can - and should - be flushed away, should be disposed of as easily and quickly as going to the toilet. _

__

The whole of Sector Seven. Not just the citizens below the plate, but even the loyal employees of Shin-Ra that live on the top. Thousands of people are going to be killed because of a few terrorists! 

Reeve knew - better than anyone else - what the effect the bombing of the reactor had been. He knew that 250 workers in the reactor had been killed, and that close to 400 people living around the reactor had suffered major injury. He knew that the incident had created an atmosphere of fear amongst the citizens of the top plate, that the fear had quickly turned to anger and hate. 

He had believed that the group responsible, Avalanche, deserved death. Whatever their initial grievances had been, the act they had performed was unjustifiable. 

__

If Shin-Ra goes through with this... they'll be a hundred times worse. They'll have killed innocent people in a quest for revenge. 

Behind him the door opened. Reeve wondered if his efforts to convince the President not to go through with the plan had thrown doubts on his loyalty. He knew what happened to high-level employees who turned on the company. The Turks were sent to "deal" with them.

"Reeve honey... You've stirred up some bad feeling. Kya-ha-ha!"

"Scarlet.."

"10 out of 10. Kya-ha-ha-ha!"

"What do you want?" Reeve's voice was harsher than he expected.

"You remember our little conversation about the cat?"

"Yes..."

"It's time to use it. I've ordered it to be sent to the Gold Saucer. It's fortune telling came in useful! Kya-ha-ha!" Scarlet put her hands on her hips, her laughter splitting the air.

"No! Cait isn't a spy!"

"Reeve... I suppose you've heard about the plate?"

Reeve scowled. "Unfortunately, yes."

"Kya-ha-ha-ha! It's going to fail. You can't crush ants, no matter how big your boot. And whilst Shin-Ra have some very big boots – " Scarlet smiled " – And the balls to use those boots, this task requires more... _delicate_ handling."

"So we're going to drop the plate, and it's not even going to work? Why don't you tell the President this?! This whole plan is absolutely crazy!"

"It is." Scarlet agreed. "But the President's pride has been damaged and he needs to make a big show."

Reeve stared at her, beyond words.

"But think of it like this. When the terrorists escape, as they almost certainly will, what happens then? Do we drop all the parts of the plate, one by one, until everyone is dead? Kya-ha-ha! The fools would you know. They are the kings of brute force, the champions of scare-tactics."

"I... I don't understand..."

"Hush Reeve, hush and listen. You are opposed to unnecessary death. That is good, so am I. However, unless the terrorists are dealt with, more people will die. So we need to take care of it ourselves." Scarlet nodded, her eyes flashing. "Do you understand why we need a spy? We have to pin-point their location, not just randomly drop hunks of metal in the hope they'll wait for us to hit them! Kya-ha-ha!"

Reeve looked at the floor, and then back up at Scarlet.

"You're right. I'll do as you say."

Scarlet smiled, the corners of her mouth crinkling gently. It was rather cute, until you took in the icy dark eyes glittering above.

-~-~-~-

Elena sat patiently in her cell. Although she didn't know it, it was the same one Reno had been locked in five years previously. 

She had been told the confinement was temporary, that the Turks would speak with her very soon. So she was patient, bearing with her surroundings, and the guard who walked past and leered in at her every now and then.

__

I have to bear it like a Turk, she thought, _and they'll accept me for sure._

-~-~-~-

Gunfire split the air, the helicopter hovered just out of range. Reno watched dispassionately as two Shin-Ra guards fell dead. Their bodies hit the metal with a thud. Moments later one of the Avalanche members fell screaming from the platform, disappearing from his sight. 

"S-Sir?" The pilot spoke hesitantly.

"Yeah?" Reno kept his eyes on the action below.

"If... If all the Avalanche team are killed... There won't be any need to drop the plate right?" The man kept his attention on the controls in front of him.

Reno shrugged. "Possibly not."

"Well... it would be better that way right? I mean.. we don't need to kill all those people if Avalanche is gone."

"Mmm."

"So.. you'll try and kill them first? Before.... before..."

"It'll be easier to just set the bomb to begin with. I'll kill them if they get in the way, but I'm not going out of my way to have a fight. What's your problem anyway?" Reno tilted his head slightly, looking at the pilot from the corner of his eye. 

"It's just... Before I became a pilot... I lived down there. I knew some people who lived in Sector Seven. Not close friends, but... " His voice trailed off.

"Well." Reno turned back to the scene below, noting that Cloud and Tifa had joined Barret, and all the known members of Avalanche were now accounted for. "I hope they didn't owe you any money. Get closer."

The pilot shuddered and turned the helicopter towards the pillar and the platform. Behind him he heard Reno stand up.

"Heh... this could be fun." Reno said quietly.

-~-~-~-

Rude paced the office. The window beside him looked out across the city, and he strained to see some sign of what was happening at the pillar. 

-~-~-~-

Marlene clutched the flower girl's hand, some of the fear Aeris felt having been communicated to her. They were walking through strange streets, and Marlene wished desperately for Tifa or Barret to turn up and tell her what was going on.

"This way Marlene! My house isn't far now!"

They turned a corner, and Marlene blinked. The house they were looking at was like a fairy tale castle. Flowers surrounded it, and even the air seemed lighter, fresher and more cheerful. She had never seen anything more beautiful.

"This is my house! My mother should be home, so I'll –"

"Ancient." The voice came from behind the two, a quiet voice with the faintest trace of an accent. Marlene shivered. The voice may have been quiet but she hadn't missed the overtone of menace. Aeris turned slowly, still holding her hand. 

"Tseng...."

Marlene stared at the figure that had appeared. Tall, dark, moving towards them silently. She heard a whimper rise up in her throat, and quickly choked it back down. Barret hated it when she cried.

Aeris began backing away towards the house, pulling Marlene with her.

"Leave us alone Tseng!"

"Too late." 

Marlene didn't understand what the man meant, but was distracted by the door to the house opening and another stranger appearing. This one was a woman, and she looked from Aeris to the strange man with fear in her eyes.

"Leave me alone!" Aeris spun on her heel, heading for the open door, Marlene hurrying alongside. But suddenly the man was in front, between them and safety.

"You have to come with me now."

Aeris glared at him, defiant. She let go off Marlene's hand and pulled out the staff Marlene had noticed earlier.

"I won't! I won't come with you!"

"I don't have time for this."

Marlene blinked. The man was pointing a gun at her! The whimper escaped her, and she looked up at Aeris. The flower girl stood for a moment, staring at the gun. Then she put the staff away.

"Ok. I'll come with you if you promise to leave my Mum and Marlene alone."

"Agreed."

"Aeris no!" The woman stood in the door hurried forward, stopping abruptly as the man turned the gun towards her.

"Let her make her own choices." The man strode towards Aeris, grabbing her arm and forcing her back down the street. Marlene dived to one side as they passed, watching as they passed out of sight.

"Aeris..." The woman stared after them, a look of shock on her face. Marlene hesitated, unsure of what to do. Finally she approached her. 

"Um... excuse me? Do you know where my Daddy is?"

-~-~-~-

Reno jumped out of the helicopter, landing easily on the metal platform. The three Avalanche members were slow to react, and he sped towards the pillar, his electro-mag rod ready in one hand.

The Plate Release System was laughably easy to set, he entered the code and the thing was raring to go. He looked up as the three came running towards him, brandishing weapons.

"You're too late." He grinned, flicking a strand of hair out of his eyes. "Once I push this button...."

He pressed it. It beeped gently, locking the system.

"That's all folks! Mission accomplished."

Tifa clenched her fists. "We have to disarm it! Cloud! Barret! Please!"

Reno shook his head. "I can't have you do that. No one gets in the way of Reno and the Turks..." 

Barret had his gun-arm up and was spraying the air with bullets within seconds of the end of that sentence. Reno felt the bullets punch into him and once again offered silent thanks to the Mako running through his veins. He barely had time to recover from that attack before Tifa was upon him, fists pounding him mercilessly. She dived back to let Cloud in. He swung his massive sword with skill and Reno was left in little doubt that the man knew how to use the unwieldy weapon.

__

What a way to start... Well, I'll soon show them who they're dealing with!

He started with his normal attack, wanting to test them out a bit before reverting to magic. His rod slammed into Tifa, and he was rewarded with a pained gasp. She looked up at him, rusty coloured eyes glaring.

To his right Barret had his gun up again, once more filling the air with bullets. Reno's temper broke, and he cast his Pyramid spell, trapping the huge muscle man in a glowing yellow prison. The other two made sounds of consternation, and Tifa darted past Cloud, trying to break the prison. 

She's strong, Reno watched the pyramid fade to nothing under her fists. _But that's OK. There's plenty more where that came from._ He cast the spell again, this time on Tifa, trapping her angry form. 

Cloud's sword cut a gleaming arc through the air, shattering the prison. Barret started shooting again, Reno growled quietly as the bullets sliced into him. _Doesn't the guy know how to do anything else?_ He turned his rod on him, electricity spearing through it and into the mans body. Barret roared with rage.

Cloud attacked again. He managed to dodge the worst of the attack, but the tip of the sword caught his arm, bringing blood. He responded by turning his rod onto the sword, sending electricity sparking down it and into the man clutching it. For a moment their eyes met, icy blue orbs burning with Mako energy. Then they parted, Cloud jumping back and pulling his sword away from the rod gracefully, whilst Reno was forced to meet Tifa's attack. She kicked out, and he felt more pain rush through his body. 

__

Shit... I think she broke a rib.

He concentrated his next three blows on Tifa, using the rod as both a blunt weapon and electrifying her. She dropped to the ground, her breath coming raggedly. Reno felt more bullets hit him, and wondered how much more damage his system could take. 

Cloud sheathed his sword, spreading his hands out. Reno noted the gleam of magic, and then Tifa was back on her feet, fury radiating from her like heat from a fire. Her attack was exceptionally violent, her punches coming lightening fast. He was left reeling from the weight of her blows, and she grinned briefly as she jumped back from him. Again with the bullets, and then Cloud raised his hands, there was a flicker of magic, and fire was suddenly rushing at him, great red and yellow flames licking his body. 

-~-~-~-

A/N: OK, that chapter was supposed to be longer, and have more from Rude's viewpoint, but the word-count was getting high and higher so I decided to cut this chapter in half. And I promised you cover art - I HAVE scanned it, I just haven't uploaded it yet ^^;; On top of all that this chapter is several weeks late. My excuse is that I've just undergone a rigorous A-Level exam. Please forgive me, review, and stick around for the next chapter!


	10. The Plate Drops 2

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Ten: The Plate Drops 2

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

"Goddamnit! How much longer do I have to _wait!_" Elena slammed one fist into the wall. "Ow!"

__

Damn. She thought, nursing her hand._ Maybe this is a test of my patience and they're watching me right now... What if I've just proven how impatient I am? What if they decide not to make me a Turk? I'll get sent home in disgrace! Everyone will know what a fool I am! Tseng will laugh at me! Oh God, what have I done!?_

"Y'know honey, there's certain 'perks' to being a prisoner of Shinra..." The guard leaned on the bars of the cell, one shoulder flexed. 

"Like what?" Elena asked irritably, her thoughts still on Tseng.

"Well, if you're _nice_ maybe I'll show you them". The guards face was hidden by the uniform, but Elena had little doubt of the leering expression that would be plastered beneath. She controlled her temper with difficulty.

"No thanks."

"Come on sweetheart. What have you got to lose? And I might even drop you a few good words with the President himself. Get him to think about letting you go alive for example."

"Let me go alive...?" She echoed his words.

"Yeah. And all it'll cost ya is a couple of shags. More than worth it huh?" The guard put his hand on his keys, gloved hand stroking them suggestively.

"When I'm a Turk" Elena began frostily "I'll make sure you're –"

"You!? A Turk??" The guard began laughing "Oh that's rich! _You_ a Turk!"

He was interrupted by a slim hand coming through the bars and grabbing him by the front of his uniform, yanking him forward sharply so he was slammed up against the bars and staring into the furious face of Elena. She ground her teeth as she glared at him, eyes narrowed and nostrils flaring.

"I. Am. Going. To. Be. A. Turk. Do you have a problem with that?"

"N-no ma'am!"

-~-~-~-

Flames washed over him, enveloping him in their intense heat. When the haze cleared he found himself looking directly at Cloud. He saw a half smile curl the corner of the blond man's face, and fury raged through him.

"Neo-Turk Light!"

The electricity ball flashed across the space between them, sparks leaping from it to bury themselves in the metal floor. The ball hit Cloud in a rush of blue and white light, sharp spears of electricity branching out from it and enveloping the figure. 

Barret fired again, and Reno felt more pain enter his body. 

__

These guys are too good... the plate's going to drop in a few minutes! There's no way I can defeat them in that time – time to cut my losses.

"It's time." Reno looked briefly from face to face. Barret's square jawed, deep brown, scowling. Cloud's serious, resolute, with those burning eyes. Tifa's small, pale, exhausted looking. Then he turned and ran, vaulting easily over the railing and falling a few feet before catching onto the ladder hanging from the helicopter. He clambered up the ladder hastily and dived through the door.

He smelt her before he saw her. The rich fresh smell of flowers hung in the air of the enclosed space inside the helicopter. Looking round he saw Tseng stood next to the flower girl from the slums – the Ancient.

"So you got her then." Reno said, becoming slowly aware of a burning sensation running through his body.

"Yes."

The Ancient looked across at him, a few loose strands of hair obscuring her eyes and hiding her expression.

"You're hurt" she said. Reno wasn't sure, but he thought she sounded sympathetic.

"I'd be more worried about you than about me if I were you" he replied.

She turned her head away, looking instead towards the open door. Tseng moved away from his position beside her and glanced out as well. For a minute he watched whatever was happening at the tower. Then he spoke outwards. Reno supposed he was addressing Avalanche and listened closely.

"That's right. You'll have a hard time disarming that one. It'll blow the second some stupid jerk touches it." 

__

That includes all three of 'em. Reno smirked to himself. He couldn't hear what the terrorists answered.

"Ha ha ha..... Only a Shinra Executive can set up or disarm the Emergency Plate Release System." 

The helicopter swerved suddenly, and Reno heard gunshots. _That'll be Barret. Idiot._ Beside him the Ancient yelped.

"I wouldn't try that.... You just might make me injure our special guest." Tseng leaned back inside and hauled the Ancient up beside him so she was in view. This time Reno heard Avalanche's response.

"Aeris!" It was Tifa's voice, sounding frantic.

"Oh, you know each other? How nice you could see each other one last time." Tseng paused then added "You should thank me."

__

Yeah. Pay 'em back for what they did to Shin-Ra. Make their dying moments hell. Keep going Tseng. Tell them how everyone in Sector Seven will die because of them. Tell them about the pain, the misery, the total failure of their mission. Make them feel like shit for what they did. Reno's thoughts began to slide into one another. The burning sensation in his body had shrunk down to a dull ache in his side.

"What are you going to do with Aeris?" Cloud's voice called up to the helicopter, clear and strong. Reno shook his head, trying to clear it.

"I haven't decided. Our orders were to find and catch the last remaining Ancient. It's taken us a long time, but now I can finally report this to the President." Tseng looked down at the Ancient. Reno stared at his leader, wondering why he sounded disappointed. Tseng had been trying to catch Aeris for ages... Why would he be unhappy when he finally succeeded?

Aeris looked up at Tseng. Perhaps hearing the note of sadness in his voice as well she leaned forward and shouted down to Avalanche.

"Tifa, don't worry! She's all right!" 

Crack! Tseng slammed her back into the helicopter, using the side of his hand to lay her flat. Reno winced, he had been on the wrong end of that attack more than once. Aeris scrambled back to her feet, giving Tseng a glare and shouting back out.

"Hurry and get out!"

"Heh..." Tseng glanced at his watch. "Well, it should be starting right about now. Think you can escape in time?" He signalled to the pilot, and the helicopter lifted upwards, circled the pillar and shot back towards the Shin-Ra HQ.

-~-~-~-

Rude stared out the window. Behind him the clock silently changed it's numbers, their shapes flashing briefly each second. 58 seconds. 59 seconds. Then a double naught, lasting no longer than a second but witness to the explosion that suddenly crashed through the air. Rude watched as a fountain of smoke and dust blew upwards through the ducts of Sector Seven. He watched as the entire section of plate rocked sideways, one edge lifting up above its surroundings, metal supports and girders screeching as they tore through each other. 

There was a second explosion, as something else disintegrated, and then the plate section fell the other way. An enormous black cloud rose up over the scene, and for a moment Rude couldn't see anything. It didn't stop the sounds though, metal scraping against metal, great crunches and booms as concrete and brick collapsed, and people screaming as their world literally dropped out from beneath them.

"...... Tifa............. "

Rude stood unmoving, his face not changing. A thousand images of Tifa flashed through his mind, sliding like quicksilver into each other. 

In front of him the smoke dissipated, it's black shapes rolling away to reveal a scene of total carnage. The plate had disappeared entirely, but huge chunks of metal still stood, debris hanging off them like macabre bunting. A twisted train track swayed gently, it's tracks caught over a great spike of broken concrete. Rude wondered if there had been a train on it when it broke. Wondered if the people had had any idea of what was happening as they had fallen into the pit below.

"........... I'm sorry........ I shouldn't have said anything......" He spoke the words aloud, desperate to make them real. To somehow get the message out, even though it was too late.

__

Should I have stopped it? I didn't know President Shin-Ra would do something like this.... Why can't I stop thinking about her?

It wouldn't have worked anyway. Turk's aren't supposed to have feelings. We're not supposed to feel love or guilt.... I need to stop feeling these emotions.

If I'd tried to stop it I would've ended up like that other Turk who tried to interfere because of love. Vincent Valentine. He tried to stop the Septhiroth project and look what happened to him. Turk's shouldn't interfere. We just do as we're told, we're a weapon not a controller.

This isn't helping.....

"......... I really am sorry .......... "

-~-~-~-

Reno huddled in his seat, completely unaware of the spectacle outside. Both Tseng and the Ancient were staring out the window, watching the results of his handiwork. Reno was vaguely aware that Aeris was crying, but was unable to focus on the sound as pain shot through his body, it's origin in his side. It felt as though a long spike had been hammered into him, driving further into him every time he moved. Breathing was painful. A strange green mist floated in front of his eyes.

__

By Odin this hurts! This is way worse than a broken rib.... I hope that bitch dies slowly!

"Reno?" It was Tseng's voice, sounding more concerned that Reno was accustomed to.

"I'm ... OK."

Silence. Punctuated by Aeris crying.

-~-~-~-

A/N: Not so long a gap this time. I think this chapter and the last were the hardest to write so far. It's difficult to keep it accurate to the game _and_ make it somewhat interesting and original ^^;; The plate dropping is such a major scene I wanted to do it justice. And the fight with Reno – translating HP and turn taking into a realistic battle sequence is beyond me! Still I hope you enjoyed it.

Next time around we concentrate on Elena, and possibly a couple of other Shinra characters. 

And yes, I promised you cover art so here you go: http://showcasecomics.co.uk/suzie/images/fan/loae.jpg


	11. Avalanche Invade

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Eleven: Avalanche Invade

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Shin-Ra hospitals were suprisingly underdeveloped compared to the rest of its advances. The reason for this was fairly simple; what didn't kill a soldier could usually be cured with magic. However, on rare occasions someone gained a wound that didn't kill them but was beyond the curative abilities of materia. These people were unlucky enough to see the inside of the hospital wing of the Shin-Ra Headquarters.

"_Taste_ this food Rude. Taste it and tell me it's not recycled Mako waste, seasoned with chocobo dung and with a side order of melted _crayons!_"

"......"

"Christ! I can't eat this muck!" Reno balanced the plate on the edge of the side-table next to the hospital bed. "You could have brought me something to eat" 

"....... I did......" Rude pointed at the grapes he had given to his friend. Reno looked at them.

"They came off a bush. I don't eat things that come off bushes. Or trees. Or out of the ground. Or anything that's green. Unless it's a green jellybean."

".........." 

"They won't let me _drink_ Rude! They gave me water and orange juice!"

"A tragedy." Rude said solemnly.

"I can't help but get the impression you're not taking my justified anger seriously here." Reno slumped back into his pillow. "They can't even decide what's wrong with me. One doctor said it was a smashed rib. Another one said I'd torn some muscles. A third one said the broken rib had torn the muscles and punctured my lung to boot. Then they got into an argument and threw stethoscopes at each other."

"..........."

"You always say that." Reno turned his head. From his angle all he could see through the far window was a small square of green-grey sky. "Hey, what did ya do to that ditz who attacked the building the other day?"

"Her name's Elena." Rude hesitated, wondering how best to explain the new situation to Reno. "..... Tseng's decided to....... make her your ...... temporary ...... replacement."

"WHAT!?"

-~-~-~-

Elena wished desperately for a mirror. The changing rooms hadn't had one, and neither had the main office she had been brought too. Perched on the edge of one of the chairs she smoothed the creases in the dark blue trousers for the twentieth time. 

"This whole situation is remarkably unorthodox." Tseng stood with his back to her, looking at the rubbled remains of Sector Seven. "Normally Turks are recruited, either from the ranks of SOLDIER or collected if they've proven themselves to have the needed skills. They don't just join if they feel like it."

"Yes sir"

"However." Tseng paused, still regarding the scene of devastation outside the window "We've had a trying time recently. Our resources have been stretched to the limits, and with Reno in the hospital we needed a new Turk – quickly."

"Yes sir" Elena found herself contemplating the span of his shoulders, the curve of his spine, her eyes drifting lower... 

"You'll undergo a severe training program over the next few weeks. We'll start with hand-to-hand combat and then look briefly at basic weaponry, though your file says you're already an extremely skilled shot."

__

He complimented me! Elena felt a warm fuzzy feeling fill her mind, and she returned her eyes to the back of his head.

"I'm not sure how long Reno will be out for, but – " Tseng stopped abruptly. Elena blinked. Tseng stood silently for a second, then turned and indicated for her to come over to the window. She obeyed, confused.

"Look down there." Tseng pointed downwards. Looking down Elena saw the open area in front of the HQ, and a few jutting bits of metal that stuck out over the chasm that had been Sector Seven. There was movement, and Elena peered closer. They were a long way up, but she had good eyesight. 

"What do you see?" Tseng asked calmly.

"Um.... I see some debris, and a person with blond hair. Wait, someone else has joined them – a big dark looking guy. He seems to have come from the ruins. Yes, here comes a third person, a woman I think, it's hard to tell at this height. Are they survivors or rescue workers or something? They seem to be coming towards the building...."

-~-~-~-

"That stupid bimbo has _replaced_ me!? Rude she's hopeless! An idiot! She can't fight! And how can you trust her just because of what she says!? She – "

"Shut up Reno."

Reno glared at Rude. There was an uncomfortable silence, during which the long winded drone of a fly became audible. Then Rude's PHS beeped, breaking the mood. Reno turned his head away from Rude, although he listened carefully to everything that was said.

"We've got an emergency situation Rude."

"...."

"Three members of AVALANCHE are on their way into the building."

Rude felt something like hope fill him. With uncharacteristic eagerness he asked "Which three?"

"Difficult to tell, but it looks like Cloud Strife, Barret Wallace and Tifa Lockheart. I need you up here. Now."

"Sir." Rude snapped his PHS shut and stood up. Reno glanced at him, looking faintly puzzled. 

"You sound happy. Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"........... Emergency. Bye." Rude hastened out the door of the hospital wing, leaving a very disgruntled Reno behind him.

-~-~-~-

The three Turks stood around the CCTV screens, watching the scene in front of them. The 61st floor, the employees lounge, filled the screen. Various people milled around, and amongst them moved the AVALANCHE members. Every now and then they paused and spoke to one of the people, and after a few minutes of this they got into an elevator. Tseng pressed a button and the 62nd floor appeared instead. As they watched the three terrorists disembarked from the elevator and started examining the libraries.

"......... rescue mission?" Rude looked towards his boss.

"Must be." Tseng frowned. "The Ancient seems to be important to them for some reason. I didn't think they'd known each other that long...."

"Our plan?"

"All the high executives will be attending the meeting that's due to start in a few minutes." Tseng drummed his fingers against a nearby table. "I don't want to disturb them until afterwards. It will take them a while to get to the lab, considering the diversions between them and it."

Um... excuse me sir?" Elena started to put her hand up like she had done in school, then realised what she was doing and hastily turned it into a quick sweep through her hair. "Wasn't it Avalanche who dropped the plate?"

There was silence in the room. Then Tseng looked back at the screens. On them he could see the Mayor handing a keycard over to the terrorists.

"This could be a very useful opportunity to discover the weak spots in our security." He said, silently deciding to ignore Elena's question for the moment. She didn't need to know what she had got into – yet. "We'll let them reach the Ancient, and then we'll intercept them as they flee the building. Understand Rude?"

Rude nodded. He wondered if Tseng's decision stemmed in part from wanting to protect Aerith from Hojo's experimentation for as long as possible. Rude was more astute than many people gave him credit for, and he had noticed Tseng's reluctance to capture or harm the flower girl. _Perhaps he would understand how I feel about Tifa? No, I can't tell him. _Rude wiped his mind clear of his thoughts and returned to watching the terrorists climb the building, floor by floor.

-~-~-~-

Reeve sat in the board room, feeling strangely claustrophobic. Glancing down at the papers in front of him he realised he had drawn a tiny picture of Cait Sith in the margin of his sums. He hastily scribbled it out, feeling somehow guilty even though he had accepted that Cait had to be turned into a spy.

The rest of the employees filed in. Seating themselves at the long table they shuffled and talked a little among themselves. Reeve kept his eyes firmly on his paper, refusing to look up for fear he should meet Scarlet's eyes. 

"Reeve." The President's voice penetrated through to him, and he stood up reluctantly. He couldn't help but feel that all the damage assessment and cost calculating he had done would be in vain. The President never gave him the full budget he asked for, preferring to spend more on the Peace Preservation Department.

"We have the damage estimates for Sector 7. Considering those factories we already set up and all the investments, the damage is estimated at approximately 10 Billion Gil..." 

Reeve paused and cleared his throat. Then he looked up, directly at President Shin-Ra. "The estimated cost to rebuild Sector 7 is..." 

"We're not rebuilding." President Shin-Ra returned his gaze unfazed.

"What?"

"We're leaving Sector 7 as it is. And restarting the Neo-Midgar plan." 

-~-~-~-

Reno studied the now congealed food thoughtfully. It had been disgusting before but now it was inedible and he was _starving_. He poked the "melted crayon" with the plastic knife. It didn't even dent. His stomach growled.

"Ah crap." he sighed. "Maybe I should have eaten it......"

-~-~-~-

"Sir, if you raise the rates, the people will lose confidence..." Reeve looked down at the table top again. The talk of Ancients and Promised Lands made the feelings of guilt worse. _Nobody even knows what the Promised Land really is. It's fertile, and the Ancients went there when they died. Sounds like Heaven. And you can't tarmac Heaven or build a Mako Reactor there. Why do we have to be so ambitious?_

The President smiled "It'll be all right. The ignorant citizens won't lose confidence, they'll trust Shinra, Inc. even more." 

Heidegger laughed. "Gya-Ha-ha-ha! After all, we're the ones who saved Sector 7 from AVALANCHE!" 

-~-~-~-

Elena read the file on Cloud Strife carefully, making sure she took in every word. His history fitted in with some of the things she remembered from the illegal file hacking she had done to find out about the Turks. 

"Sir?" 

"Yes Elena?" Tseng looked away from the CCTV. For some reason the terrorists had decided to spend a lengthy amount of time in the toilet together. Tseng wasn't sure he wanted to know what that was about.

"What does "misappropriation" mean?"

"There's a dictionary on the shelf." He turned back, wondering briefly if he had made a wise decision in recruiting the girl.

"Yes sir!" Elena hastened over to the shelf, examining the book spines. "Oh! There's two! Which one should I use?"

"I'm sure they're equally as accurate." Tseng said, somewhat irritated.

"Do you think so? One says it has 65 000 words in... the other one is a dictionary _and_ a thesaurus." 

"Elena......"

"I'll check it in both shall I? Let's see..... M....I...."

"........." Rude turned round and opened the dictionary at the right page and pointed at the word.

"Ooh, thanks! Hmmm... 'apply (usu. Another's money) to one's own use, or to a wrong use'.... that makes sense. Only... it wasn't talking about money." Elena walked back to the file and examined it. "No, it's talking about a sword." 

"Just read the file Elena." Tseng said.

"oh, uh.. s.. sorry sir!" Elena hastily returned to her concentrated reading.

-~-~-~-

Rude studied the screens. He had watched Tifa fight, and his respect for her increased dramatically. Her lithe supple form seemed to posses a hidden strength, her fists able to smash down enemies twice the size of her. 

As he watched, he saw them confront Hojo and help one of his lab animals to escape, along with the Ancient. They had a quick discussion and then split in half, the lab animal and the Ancient going with Cloud and Barret and Tifa in the other group. 

__

I wonder if she has feelings for Barret? She never seemed to... seems strange that in the 5 years I knew her she never once seemed to have a boyfriend. So many men hit on her. But she never encouraged them. Not once.

"Rude? You meet Cloud. I'll get the other two and then join you." Tseng's voice interrupted his thoughts.

".... sir." 

Rude left the office and headed for the 66th floor elevator. His thoughts were spinning, but he didn't let it affect his professional demeanour. With his expressionless face, eyes hidden by dark glasses, most people assumed he was as un-emphatic as he looked. 

Rude knew this. He welcomed the silence and lack of social contact. He couldn't kill someone he had been friendly with. Found it difficult to kill someone he even knew. He suspected Tseng did too, considering the Turk leader also disliked the more social aspects of his job.

__

Reno is the only one who seems to be able to talk with people as easily as he always has. He'll be joking with them even as he pulls the trigger. I couldn't do that. A murder is still a murder, even if it's a necessary one. It feels wrong to laugh about it. I guess that's what makes him so good at spying. He's not intimidating.

Strange though... people think he's the nicest one of us, and yet he's probably the most ruthless. I couldn't have dropped the plate. I don't think Tseng could have. Yet he doesn't even appear phased by it. I wonder....

A sudden image of Reno's two facial scars came to his mind suddenly. _He never did tell me where he got those from. _

He went to Hojo's lab for the standard Mako infusion. Came back with powerful non-materia magic, two scars, and already as ruthless as any soldier.

Hmm...

Rude had reached the 66th floor elevator. The narrow clear tube already contained Cloud, the lab animal, and the Ancient. He walked in, touching Cloud on his shoulder to turn him round. 

The blonde responded, spinning round with his bright blue eyes widening in suprise. The Ancient gasped, putting her hands up to her mouth. The lab animal – on closer inspection it appeared to be some kind of feline/canine cross – looked up calmly, flicking it's flame tipped tail back and forth. 

"Would you press "up" please?" Rude watched all three.

"Turks? Must be a trap..." Cloud's hand twitched, opening slightly. He was clearly debating whether to fight. 

__

"It must have been a real thrill for you... Did you enjoy it?" Tseng had joined him. The sight of the Wutaian seemed to decide Cloud. He made a peculiar choking noise, shaking his head and indicating to the Ancient to send the elevator up.

-~-~-~-

A/N: Another chapter done ~ reviews please! I have ideas for the next chapter planned, and I'll try and get it written sometime over the week. Sorry for the delay, I do try to keep this constantly updated but academics is coming first at the moment. I leave school on the 17th of May, so hopefully things will speed up then. Trouble is I have exams right after that ^^;;

Next chapter: The meeting with Pres. Shin-Ra, some Tseng character development (poor guy's been neglected recently) and hopefully some more from Elena. Plus everyone's favourite sword-wielding silver haired psycho will be turning up soon ^_^ Keep reading!


	12. An Old Friend

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Twelve: An Old Friend

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Elena sighed. So far being a Turk had involved lots of waiting and reading. She paced the room, then glanced at the CCTV screens which were currently focused on an empty elevator tube. She glanced at the controls, her natural impatience overcoming her inhibitions about touching anything in the room.

"Shouldn't be too hard to figure out...." She pushed a few buttons, watching as the screens flickered. "Ok, that one adjusts the brightness and contrast... how about this one? Hmm, that makes it stripy. This one? Oops, that turns them off. Back on – ah there we go. Now to find Tseng...."

She went up the building quickly, finally coming to rest on the top floor – the Presidents Office. The room was huge, an enormous open space dominated mainly by the large raised desk towards the far end. The room was so large it needed extra support in the form of pillars. 

Standing in front of the desk, hands and feet bound, stood the 3 Avalanche members and the lab animal. Tseng and Rude stood at the back of the room and Elena wished she was there too. Behind the desk sat the President, his overly bright blond hair and shiny purple suit somehow overpowering the rest of him so that his face seemed faded and unimportant. 

The President was speaking, Elena wondered how much of the conversation she had already missed.

"Cetra, or the Ancients will show us the way to the 'Promised Land'. I'm expecting a lot out of her." 

"The Promised Land? Isn't that just a legend?" The lab animal raised its head, speaking in a calm, evenly modulated tone. Elena blinked. _A talking animal? I would have expected it to sound all growly... But it talks like someone from Cosmo Canyon! He sounds intelligent too – I've never heard of "Cetra" or "The Promised Land"... Great, an animal is more intelligent than me!_

"Even so, it's just too appealing to not pursue. It's been said the Promised Land is very fertile." The President paused, looking at each of the people standing there in turn. "...If the land is fertile..." 

"Then there's gotta be Mako!" Barret – Elena was now familiar with all the members of Avalanche from their files – sounded angry. He too had strange accent, a mixture of North Corel, and a particular sub-set of the slums. 

"Exactly. That is why our money sucking Mako Reactor is a necessity. The abundant Mako will just come out on its own. That is where Neo-Midgar will be built. Shin-Ra's new glory..." 

At these words Barret leaped forward, struggling against his handcuffs and swearing at the President. Elena blushed.

"Quit dreamin'!" He finished.

"Oh really, don't you know? These days all it takes for your dreams to come true is money and science. Well, that is all for our meeting." 

As Elena watched, Rude hurried over to the group, telling them to move out of the way. Three of the four complied, but Barret leaned forward, snarling. "Hold it! I got a lot I wanna say to you!" 

Rude doubled back, and grabbed hold of the huge muscular man. There wasn't much height difference between the two. Elena thought that Rude might be a shade taller, but Barret was definitely broader. As she watched, Rude hauled Barret out of the room, leaving the President alone. 

"If you need something else... talk to my secretary." The President polished his jacket buttons, smirking.

Elena flicked the screens back to the elevator, reluctant to let the other Turks know she had eavesdropped.

__

I suppose they're going to be put on trial next... For the plate. I wonder why nobody mentioned that? All they talked about was "The Promised Land". A legendary place with lots of Mako. Does that mean we're running out of Mako? Why would they look for it if they're not?

Elena considered. There was a lot going on here, more than she had thought. It might be worthwhile investigating...

-~-~-~-

Tseng and Rude led the members of Avalanche and the lab animal down to the cells near the science department. They didn't speak, the whole group was silent, reflecting on what had been said and what was about to happen. The only noise came from an occasional muttered swear word from Barret when Rude yanked him too hard.

Tseng was thinking about the Cetra. He had never made the link between Hojo and the President's talk of Ancients with the legendary and powerful species that had formed a large part of his education when he was younger.

He had been brought up in a small village some distance from the main city of Wutai. The village was now gone, not a trace remaining except in history books and memories. The village had been thriving when he left but just two months later a tidal wave had swept it from the surface of the planet. Many people considered it Leviathan's doing.

The village had formed as a splinter group of a religious cult. Rejecting the current belief in Leviathan and most of the rituals surrounding him, they harkened back to a much more primitive belief system. They sought to revive the Cetra, finding out all they could about them, and struggling to mimic their ways. They called themselves the "Chuujitsu", the Faithful. 

Tseng still wasn't certain how their underlying principles – worship and care of the Planet – had developed into the rigid, dogmatic and tradition bound religion he had been born into. Growing up he had observed all of the rituals, but had questioned their purpose. He had attended the sacrifices, had prayed to the Planet, and had even tried listening dutifully to hear if the Planet replied. It never did. If it had he would have become a "Shisai", a Priest, one of those who communicated with the Planet and told the rest of the people what to do.

__

Strange how the main way to placate the Planet was to turn a beautiful virgin over to the Shisai. Tseng thought bitterly. 

Tseng had been born to one of those woman after the Shisai had done with her. No longer a virgin and therefore no longer useful in placating the Planet, she had lived with her father. From him Tseng had learnt his fighting skills, enjoying the old mans teaching far more than that which he got at school.

One of the main beliefs of the Chuujitsu was that a son should take on the same job as the father. As Tseng had no father his only option was to become a farmer or fisherman. 

__

And that's when I started making trouble, thought Tseng,_ when I realised my whole life was preordained. _

They had reached the jail, Rude was already unlocking the door of the far cell. Tseng did the same, glancing in at Aerith as he passed. She was sat on the bed, eyes lowered, hands folded in her lap. A strand of brown hair fell loosely down her face, just past her nose, and Tseng had an overwhelming urge to walk in and tuck it behind her ear.

He didn't, slamming the door behind Cloud and Tifa rather harder than he would normally have done, and leaving without a word.

-~-~-~-

Elena was back on her chair when Tseng and Rude entered the office again. Glancing up as they came in, she smiled brightly.

"Did you catch them?"

"Yes" said Tseng "We did." He glanced up at the clock. "You're both dismissed. Elena, be here at 6.00 tomorrow morning."

"Six?! I uh – I mean yes sir!" Elena hastily left the office, Rude following her out.

-~-~-~-

Reno looked up when Rude entered the ward. The tall bald man sat down beside the bed, expressionless as always.

"Did ya bring food?" Reno asked hopefully.

Rude shook his head, his sunglasses fixed on Reno's face. Reno glowered at the Turk, feeling strangely off-put by his obvious scrutiny.

"What are you looking at!?"

".........you." Rude thought that was obvious.

"I _know_ that... Why? I suddenly grow horns?"

"....."

"Hello? Planet to Rude, come in!"

".......Where did you get your scars from?"

Reno blinked. It was a question he had been asked a lot, but somehow he had never expected it from his silent companion.

"Which version do ya want? The one where I was attacked by a rampaging elephant horde or the one where I was tortured for hours by evil psychotic women?"

"The truthful one." 

Reno cocked his head on one side and grinned at his friend. "The truthful one? I don't have that version."

"You don't know?"

"Nope. I really don't"

"Was it Hojo?"

"Hojo?" Reno's grin disappeared "Why d'ya say him?"

"Do you remember your Mako infusion?" Rude did. The Mako infusion process was extremely painful, but you had to remain conscious during the procedure – at least according to Hojo, although many Soldier's reckoned that he was just a sadist.

Reno shrugged, trying to think back. 

__

The sky arced above him. A great empty space, with a golden glow. It was pure, a pure colour. Not an object with shadows and reflections but a great sweeping space of pure rich vibrant colour.

__

But something was trying to draw him away from it. Something was penetrating through his awe, scratching at his conscious mind. A dark shadow. And he feared it. 

Rude saw something cross Reno's face, a shadow of an emotion. It was there so briefly, Rude wasn't sure if he'd actually seen it. Then the familiar cocky smile was back.

"Don't remember a thing." he lied.

-~-~-~-

Night fell, the deep dark clouds that smothered Midgar gradually merging with the colour of the sky behind them. Pale flickering green lights came on in most of the sectors, although there was a triangular gap where the hole that had been Sector Seven lay.

At the centre of the city, lit from top to bottom with both green crude Mako lights and the more expensive refined blue lights, stood the Shin-Ra HQ.

As the night lengthened a few people who were still out – for whatever reason – looked up as the lights of the Shin-Ra HQ suddenly flickered and died. In a second the whole building was dark. The people wondered at it for a moment, and then returned to their business. 

-~-~-~-

President Shin-Ra had stayed late that night. Normally he would have been home, or at the Honey Bee Inn, by now. However the plans for Neo-Midgar were time consuming, and the President knew instinctively that if people at the top didn't occasionally make sacrifices they didn't stay at the top for long. Power had a price.

When the lights went off he at first assumed it was a power failure. He thought of copycat terrorists, perhaps even now bombing the remaining reactors. However, when he looked at the window he saw the rest of the city was unaffected. Somehow Shin-Ra HQ had been disconnected from their own power supply.

He pushed the button on the intercom, trying to call through to the guards that patrolled the building. The attempt was fruitless, as he knew it must be. Without power there was no way to communicate.

__

I'll have to wait until they come to me... or until someone has the sense to turn the emergency power on.

He picked up the papers that were on the desk and locked them securely away in a drawer. If there was an invasion he didn't want anybody getting their hands on his plans.

__

Damn.. maybe I should have told Tseng to stay late as well.

His eyes, slowly adjusting to the lack of light, picked up faint edges and grey shadows in the surrounding area. His ears searched for a sound he could latch onto.

The faintest of sounds, a strange metallic chink... a wet thunk, a drawn out gurgle...

Something dripping...

The President felt something akin to fear bubble up in his mind and stomach. _This is crazy... no one could make it past all the guards, the security robots, the monsters..._

The dripping sound's coming closer. 

He sat at his desk, seemingly unable to move. _They won't get this far. They can't. _

Was that a darker shadow moving up from the stair well? The dripping sound was close, almost in the room with him.

He tried to focus, tried to follow the shadow. But it disintegrated before his eyes, just a figment of his fear. He breathed deep, closed his eyes.

When he opened them again the room was full of a strange luminance. It emanated from the eyes of a man. A pair of eyes so bright they could light a room. A pair of icily brilliant green eyes, the pupils overpowered by the sheer strength of the irises. 

President Shin-Ra was unable to break away from the gaze of those eyes. They held him trapped, rigid, without movement or sound.

Then the man turned away, moving silently around the edge of the desk and behind the President, who stared glassily into the distance.

"You... you're..."

A metallic chink behind him.

"If it wasn't for Shin-Ra you'd not even _exist!_"

A sharp point, resting in the small of his back. The President felt sweat beading along his forehead and slipping gently down his face.

"What do you want? Money? Power?"

"I have what I want." The voice that spoke was so cold, so distant it seemed to freeze all the hope left in President Shin-Ra. "My Mother and I have been united once more."

"Then you needn't kill me!" The President heard his voice squeak, several octaves higher than usual. "You've got your mother again, that's good! Take her, take her with you! Just go!"

The point pressed harder, and he felt warm liquid suddenly seep down his back.

"The Promised Land belongs to the Cetra. You don't even understand what it is. You will never reach it. I will not allow you to reach it."

Further into his body. The President could feel it inside him, pain blossomed from its razor sharp edge and exploded throughout his body. His hands clenched on the edge of the desk.

"Your blood will flow. Your life spirit will desert this useless flesh which it is trapped to. It will join with the lifestream, carrying all your knowledge and power with it. Your body will die."

The President made a choking sound, scrabbling fruitlessly at the desktop.

"Do not fear. When the time comes you will live again, as a part of something so powerful you cannot even comprehend its magnitude."

The sword withdrew suddenly, leaving a gaping wound from which blood flowed unchecked. The President slumped, his breath coming in painful gasps.

"....Septhiroth ......you madman...... should never... never have... been created"

The sword came quickly this time, slicing clear through his body and into the desk below. The President gasped, his eyes bulging, before his life fluids ran dry and his body gave up the fight to stay alive.

-~-~-~-

Palmer sat behind the pillar, trembling, hands clenched around his knees. He heard the President's final gasp, heard the killer give a harsh laugh. Then there were footsteps, and a click.

Palmer peered round the edge of the pillar to see Septhiroth standing at the door that led onto the roof. Strands of silver hair blew in the sudden wind. His profile, hard, sharp and commanding was outlined against the sky visible through the door. He was carrying a cold blue-white figure of a woman, dripping with a clear fluid ran through with streaks of blood. 

Then the man shot upwards, disappearing into the distance in seconds. The room lost its eerie green glow, and returned to shadows. Then the emergency lighting came on, and Palmer slowly crawled out from behind the pillar, and looked at the President.

"Wow..... scary."

-~-~-~-

A/N: Lengthy chapter this time. The trouble with Septhiroth is he has no sense of humour ^^ Hopefully when Reno gets out of hospital he can make up for the lack of humour in this chapter. Let me know what you thought ~ I've never written a cold-blooded extended murder scene before. 

Next Chapter: Rufus turns up, Elena and Rude investigate, Tseng broods.


	13. Rude the Rebel

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Thirteen: Rude the Rebel

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Rude's apartment was spartan, each item of furniture simple and without decoration. It was decorated in mainly sombre colours, with lamps spotlighting a chair or a table but leaving washed out shadows around the rest of the room.

Rude sat in one armchair, drumming his fingers against the arm. Wild thoughts – thoughts he would never have suspected he could think – ran through his head.

__

I could free her... we could run away together. Maybe move to Wutai. Or wherever, I'm sure we could find some place to hide out. Maybe Fort Condor would let us stay there for a while.

I could quit the Turks, quit Shinra. I could –

The phone rang. Rude knew of only one person who still used his phone to contact him rather than his PHS. 

He considered letting it ring, but he knew that the person on the other end was quite capable of letting it ring for hours. And the one time he had pulled it out she had come round to his door instead.

A phone call was preferable to a face to face argument. He picked up the receiver.

"............"

"Rude Jacques! When you answer the phone you should _say_ something!"

"......Joanna"

"I mean that's just _typical_ of you isn't it? You answer a _phone_ without _saying_ anything."

"Why have you called?"

"Why do you _think_ I called? I want to know when you're coming back."

".....Joanna......."  


"Don't "Joanna" me! You're _supposed_ to be at home, with me. Not in some stinky _apartment_, all by yourself. People are talking!"

"........Joanna, nobody's talking about us anym -"

"I _know_ those malicious gossips are! Rude... I know we can _fix _this. I know we can make it _better_. You just have to give me a second chance."

".......I did....."

"Oh so it's all _my_ fault now!? I should have known you'd blame me! You always blamed me!" The woman's voice became near hysterical in tone "I _hate_ you Rude! I'm _glad_ you left me!"

".....fine"

"I still have the ring Rude! You have to come back, you have to marry me like you promised! Y..you promised....."

"..........."  


At the other end of the phone Joanna started sobbing, no longer coherent. Rude pressed the reset button and dropped the receiver on the table. He sat for a moment, unmoving.

Then he stood and grabbed his coat, hurrying out of the door as he pulled it on.

-~-~-~-

He reached the Shin-Ra HQ quickly and as he entered the front door he became aware that something was very wrong.

It was unusual for the building to be so quiet. Even in the early hours of the morning there were usually ambitious employees doing overtime, and Hojo's assistants often worked round the clock on whatever new experiment he had. Shin-Ra guards were supposedly positioned at regular intervals around the building, yet there wasn't a sound.

Rude hesitated in the main foyer. His plan had been to release the members of Avalanche and use his rank to get them out of Midgar. But now he proceeded cautiously up the stairs, one hand on his gun.

He smelled the blood before he saw it. 

The body had been slashed, so viciously the force of the swing had ripped most of the insides out and sprayed them across the hall.

Rude stood by it for a moment, his eyes following the trail of blood and destruction.

Then he headed as fast as he could up the rest of the stairs, aware even as he ran that he was probably too late. 

He was right. The President had been skewered, a macabre sight even to Rude. His professional training had kicked in, he was operating on auto-pilot. Ignoring the blood and his nausea he left the room, using the elevators to take him back down to the ground level. As the lift hummed downwards he called through to Tseng to report what he had seen.

-~-~-~-

A beeping noise split the air.

Behind the white curtains of the four-poster bed someone groaned. A slim hand slipped through the curtain's and pressed the accept call button.

"Rufus Shinra, formerly Vice President of Shin-Ra?" The voice was vaguely familiar to the man as he sat up in bed, rubbing groggily at his eyes and frowning at the electronic clock next to the bed.

"What do you mean _formerly _Vice President?" Rufus snapped, wondering if his Father had finally decided to disown him. _I hope he didn't trace that assassination attempt back to me. I knew I should have killed those idiots who messed it up. Damn it! He doesn't have any evidence!_

"I mean, sir, that your father has unfortunately passed away, leaving control of Shin-Ra and all its subsidiaries to you."

Rufus blinked. Then he jumped out of bed, for once all thoughts of dignity fleeing his mind as he did a victory dance whilst whooping with joy.

"Sir?" The voice on the other end of the PHS sounded slightly worried. Rufus recovered himself with a start, his face burning red as he realised what he was doing.

"Yes, very good." Rufus considered for a minute. "How did he die? And who is this?"

"This is Tseng, sir, head of the Turks. The circumstances surrounding your fathers death are somewhat strange. However I believe it would be safe to say that Septhiroth attacked and killed him."

"Septhiroth? I thought he'd disappeared or died or something... I'm coming to the HQ understood? Have a full report ready for me when I get there. And get all the heads of departments there as well."

"Yes sir" 

Rufus ended the call, feeling highly satisfied. The news had been unexpected, considering he'd almost given up on eliminating the man after the last three disasters. But fate had smiled on him, and now he was essentially ruler of the world.

__

Enough wasting money on crap... Let the people feel the full might of Shinra!

-~-~-~-

Rude stood outside the cell, looking in at Tifa as she lay sleeping on the bed. Cloud sat against the wall, sleeping but clearly uncomfortable. 

Rude turned the key in the lock and opened the door silently.

-~-~-~-

Elena sank back in her chair with a sigh. It had been an exhausting night – the empty coffee mugs around the room testified to that – but she had finally pieced together the entire history of Shin-Ra, and compiled all the information about the Ancients or Cetra and the Promised Land. 

She stretched, feeling her shoulders click and unknot themselves. 

Her PHS buzzed, surprising her. She answered it swiftly, making herself sound as professional as she could.

"This is Elena Rushthorn, currently working for Shin-Ra Electric Power Company in the capacity of a Tur- "

"Elena. You don't advertise the fact you are a Turk." Tseng's voice came over the PHS, admonishing her. Elena flushed.

"oh I uh... I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"I know. I want you to come to the HQ, President Shin-Ra has been assassinated and it looks as though Septhiroth was behind it. The President's son is coming here, and I want to start an investigation into this before he gets here." Tseng paused, and then added more quietly "I knew searching for the Promised Land was a bad idea."

"I.... I don't think the Promised Land is a place you can find by searching..." Elena ventured.

"You probably think it's a legend" Tseng said. "There's a lot more to it than myth and superstition"

"Y... Yes sir. But I think it's a... a kind of cover word. I don't think it's really a land as such. I was looking at the parallels between it and some of the rest of the information that has come from the Cetra and uh... I think it's linked with the lifestream..."

"Elena... You've been researching the Promised Land and the Cetra? May I ask why?"

"Oh! I uh... I was um..." Elena flushed pink as she remembered she wasn't supposed to know what had been discussed in the meeting between the President and Avalanche.

"Hmmm." Tseng sounded slightly amused "Perhaps you'll make a good Turk after all. We'll discuss this at a later date. I want you at the building in 10 minutes, understood?"

"Yes sir!" Elena saluted the PHS.

-~-~-~-

The Turks, excepting Reno who was still in hospital, met in the foyer. Rude was as withdrawn as always, Tseng seemed worried, and Elena was flushed and nervous. Rude reported what details he had discovered to the group, no emotion in his voice as he described the scenes of bloodshed.

"......The sword undoubtedly belonged to Septhiroth....." He finished. 

"Didn't Septhiroth disappear a few years ago?" Elena asked "During the Nibelheim incident?"

Tseng glanced at her, wondering at the extent of her knowledge. "He did. But now he's back. And I want to make one thing clear... none of us are to challenge him in any way. He is the supreme fighter, none of us are able to come close to his level of skill."

The two Turks nodded solemnly. 

A guard came running down the stairs, saluting the Turks. He seemed shaky, unsurprising considering many of his comrades had been violently murdered.

"Sir!" He addressed himself to Tseng "Avalanche have escaped!"

-~-~-~-

"I don't believe it!" Tseng surveyed the empty cells. "Did Septhiroth free them? Have they joined forces?" He sounded furious. Rude said nothing. 

The guard that had informed them stood uneasily at the foot of the corridor, trying to avoid looking at the slumped body of the guard that been guarding the cells. 

"The door's haven't been forced. Wouldn't Septhiroth have just cut through the doors rather then bother with keys? I mean... um, considering the rest of the damage he did...." Elena looked from Tseng to Rude and back.

A second guard came running down the corridor, joining the first. He too saluted and then said;

"Sir! Avalanche attacked Rufus when he landed a few minutes ago, and have now stolen two vehicles from the showrooms and are escaping down the unfinished Sector Four motorway!"

-~-~-~-

Hojo swore under his breath as he regarded the mess in his laboratory. He was particularly unhappy about the gaping hole in the container that had held Jenova.

He comforted himself with the knowledge that Septhiroth was back, and further experiments could now be done. Leaving the lab for his assistants to clean up – though he'd have to hire some new assistants first – he was unaware of the dark shadow that slipped in through the door just as he left.

-~-~-~-

A/N: I'll confess: I'm not very experienced at handling romance, or domestic disputes. I will do my best (and I've read a fair few romances so maybe some of that will rub off on me) but if it starts going horribly wrong let me know.

I reshuffled some scenes by the way.... That's why Tseng didn't get his brooding. I'm not quite sure about the structure of the next few chapters, so you'll have to just wait and see what happens ^_^


	14. Shattered

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Fourteen: Shattered

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

The shadowy figure slipped across the lab and up the metal gangway into the dark control room. The room also contained many of the more confidential science documents. Filing cabinets sat under the desk, locked.

There was a faint clicking noise. One of the drawers slid open, revealing rows of neatly arranged files and folders. There was a lengthy pause as the shadow flicked through them, the gentle rustle of paper the only sound in the lab. Then it lifted one file out and shut the drawer. There was another click.

The figure slipped back across the room and out through the door, taking the file with it.

-~-~-~-

"Aiieee!" 

Elena flew ungracefully across the room before crashing into the floor with force, her breath knocked out of her. 

She shook her head dazedly, climbing unsteadily back to her feet and turning to face her opponent.

Rude flexed his fingers and circled the younger Turk. Elena turned with him, breathing hard. Suddenly Rude ran at her, about to bring his fist round in a sideways blow to the head. She moved to block, only to have her legs knocked out from beneath her by a swipe from Rude's left foot. She once again crashed to the floor with a yelp of suprise and pain.

".......a feint." Rude said, looking down at her. Elena nodded, without getting up. She could feel sweat trickling down her back and her breath was coming in short gasps. The gruelling training had lasted nearly two hours without a break. Rude seemed unaffected, but then he hadn't been the one flat on the floor every two minutes.

Rude waited patiently for her to get up. _For a rookie she's pretty good. Pity normal training's been curtailed._

Elena took a deep breath and climbed back to her feet. Her legs felt like rubber, and her back had gone numb from repeated contact with the ground, but she faced Rude with increased determination. Rude felt a twinge of sympathy.

"We can skip the last ten minutes if you want....."

"No." Elena "I'm fine."

".....ok"

They circled again, Elena struggling to concentrate on Rude's movements.

She saw him come at her again, this time with open hands. Twisting away from him she attempted the same tripping technique he had used, but Rude side-stepped easily, grabbing her by the shoulder and throwing her across the room again. She rolled across the floor, managing to come back to her feet for once. Rude was already following his initial attack with a straightforward blow to the head. Elena squeaked and dived to one side, and as Rude followed through she somehow managed to curl one hand up and loose off a punch of her own.

Rude felt the fist connect with his shoulder – Elena being unable to reach any higher – and was amazed at the strength contained within. He was sent staggering a full five paces to the right, and Elena, realising he was off-guard, hastily followed the attack up with two more punches. Rude grunted and grabbed her by her wrists, lifting her up. Elena yelped as her feet left the ground and she struggled uselessly against his hold.

"Kick." The voice came from the side of the hall. Elena obeyed automatically, kicking out as hard as she could. Rude let go off her and doubled up as her foot connected with his stomach.

"Well done." Tseng left the wall he had been leaning against for the last few minutes, unnoticed by either Turk, and crossed the mat. Elena became suddenly aware of the sweat trickling down her, the way her hair had managed to somehow stick straight up in places and the many scrapes she had developed during the fight. 

__

My God! What if he saw all those times I got thrown across the room? And I think I'm getting a black eye! And oh god my hair!

Rude straightened up, noticing Elena's sudden embarrassment.

"She hits harder than Reno does"

"I noticed" Tseng glanced at Elena "She nearly succeeded in knocking you over, which is a pretty rare event. Congratulations Elena."

"Th-thank you sir!" A warm glow of pride enveloped Elena and she was unable to stop the beaming smile that came to her face.

-~-~-~-

Some time later Elena stood outside the hospital ward, feeling nervous. Tseng had suggested she try visiting the disabled Turk, since she would have to work with him later. However Rude had informed her that Reno hadn't forgiven her for making him fall downstairs or for "usurping him".

She knocked twice and then entered, wondering what he would say.

-~-~-~-

Reno was playing with the morphine dispenser he had cajoled the doctor into giving him, cursing the Mako in him that neutralised the narcotic, when the knocks came. Looking up he saw the small blonde girl that had – whatever Rude might say – attacked him and tried to steal his job. He frowned and crossed his arms.

Elena twisted her hands together and tried a smile. The look on Reno's face wasn't very encouraging but she did her best anyway.

"Hi Reno. Remember me? I'm Elena, you're new... uh... partner."

"You're no partner of mine." Reno snapped "I'm your superior, not your co-worker."

Elena blushed. "S-sorry. I didn't realise- "

"What, you thought you could match my rank after being a Turk for five minutes?"

"No- no, I didn't realise there were ranks...."

"You didn't realise? What the hell did you think we were, a group of anarchists? Would you rather go join Avalanche than accept a few orders?" Reno knew he was being unfair, but his jealousy had festered whilst trapped in hospital and he wanted her to pay.

"No! I can take orders!"

"Oh goody for you." Reno sneered. "The rookie can take orders. I bet that's the _only_ thing you can do."

Elena could feel tears threatening. She clenched her fists, anger and misery mingling together.

"That's unfair! You don't what I can and can't do!"

"I know your pathetic attempt to "invade" this building was a badly thought out disaster from beginning to end. I know if I was in charge I wouldn't have accepted you even if the only other choice was a blind one-armed retard! All I can hope is that Tseng will come to his senses and fire you before I get out of here and have to start fixing things after you screw up!"

Elena turned and ran from the room, afraid that she would lose control and burst into tears, or attack him, or both. Reno heard her footsteps disappearing quickly down the corridor and smirked.

__

Trust me sweetheart..... I'm going to make your life living hell....

-~-~-~-

Rufus stood in his Father's – no his – office, reading through the plans the late President had locked in his desk. Reeve, Scarlet, Heidegger and Tseng stood in front of the desk, waiting for the young man to finish.

Rufus flicked his hair back, dropping the plans on the desk. The four employees turned their attention to him, wondering what the verdict would be.

"My Father" Rufus began "Had a lot of stupid idea's. Dropping the plate was a ridiculous waste of money and resources."

"And lives" Reeve volunteered suddenly, feeling as though the point had to be made, regardless of whether anybody listened.

Rufus paused and looked at the man in charge of Urban Development. 

"And lives." he nodded at Reeve. "However his plans for Neo-Midgar will remain unchanged, despite the setbacks that have occurred. Which we are going to deal with. Starting with Septhiroth.... So, what are your suggestions?"

"Gya-ha-hah! Septhiroth is near invincible!" Heidegger said. Rufus glared at him. 

"And that's funny?" 

"Gya-ha-" Heidegger trailed off, frowning.

Scarlet coughed, cutting off her own laugh. "He appears to be heading towards the Mithril Mines according to reports from Kalm."

"Why?" 

Scarlet frowned as well. "Perhaps he wants to cross the country?"

"He may be returning to Nibelheim." Tseng spoke for the first time. Rufus noticed that the Wutaian was studying him thoughtfully. 

"That's where he was last seen before his disappearance?" 

"Yes."

"If that's so he'll need to pass through Junon." Rufus returned Tseng's gaze "You'll take your Turks and intercept him there, understood?"

"Sir." Tseng inclined his head slightly. Rufus thought he saw a faint look of disdain cross the Turks face, but he couldn't be sure so he let it slip. For now.

"I want him eliminated. Get going." Rufus dismissed him with a wave.

Tseng left the room. The look Rufus had read as disdain had been apprehension. Tseng knew exactly what kind of task it would be to "eliminate" Septhiroth...

-~-~-~-

Elena raced up the stairs towards the Turks office, intending to get her things and go home. Reno had hurt her, managing to release the full force of the insecurity she had started feeling when rejected for the Shinra Army. His comments had brought an entire nest of self-doubts into her head. Tseng's comments had been forgotten, washed away in the spite and insults Reno had delivered.

She stumbled into the room, the first muted sob breaking free at the same time. She became aware that Rude was in the office, looking at her expressionlessly and she was certain he despised her for being so weak. Turning her head away she walked towards where her coat was hung up.

-~-~-~-

Meanwhile Joanna stood outside the Shinra HQ, waiting patiently for Rude to emerge. She had a suprise planned for her ex-fiancé.

-~-~-~-

A/N: This chapter underwent some major re-writes before ending up like this. Whether that improved it or not though....

Is the shadow too obvious? Have you figured out who it is? Are you in suspense? 


	15. Shift that Knee!

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Fifteen: Shift that Knee!

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Reeve compared the figures again. Even on the third go they still didn't match each other.

He was sat in his office, the large space that had become cramped simply because of the amount of room his equipment took up. Large blueprints for the redevelopment of Sector Seven lay on one table, the traditional ring where a cup of coffee had sat marring the otherwise pristine surface. Reeve was hoping he could talk the new President round to agreeing to rebuild the destroyed sector. Large amounts of paper were scattered around the room, along with reference books, wires, pieces of plastic and wood, and the occasional model of a building or a reactor. There was an ordinary computer as well as a system for reading the output of the Mako Reactors and measuring the amount of power being used or stored in Midgar.

He was studying the latter computer with a puzzled expression. He had just worked out how much power the remaining six Mako Reactors could put out – and the figure was significantly more than what they were getting.

__

Where's it going? Is someone tapping into the power supply? Who could do that without being noticed?

"Should I tell the President....?" He wondered aloud.

"Kya-ha-ha! Tell the preshi - president what Reeve?" The high-pitched voice came suddenly from the door, sounding slightly slurred.

"Scarlet..." he said. _Again_, he added in his head, _why does she keep visiting me?_

"Correct again! Kya-ha-ha!"

Reeve turned round in his chair and appraised the woman stood in his doorway. Her blonde curls were falling down in chunks, her makeup was smeared, one of the suspenders holding up her stockings had come loose and she was clutching a brown bottle. Reeve, barely able to handle the woman even when she was sober, swallowed.

"We should.. should tell the new President that he _shucks!_ Shtupid little boy!"

"Umm... Scarlet I think you should go home" Reeve said.

"Home? Home? What'sh for me at home? I'll tell you what'sh for me at home" Scarlet swayed forward into the room "A cold empty bed that'sh what! Kya-ha-ha-ha-ha!" 

Reeve backed away from her, wishing desperately he was somewhere – anywhere – else.

"Shtupid little _boys!_ Do they think I don't hear what they shay? Time was, I could have my _pick_ of them! Kya-ha-ha! My bed wash never empty then!" She stopped and glared at Reeve, pinning him to one spot as she swept her icy-hard gaze up and down him. "Now they laugh at me! They shay I'm an ugly old whore!"

"I – I'm sure they don't mean it." Reeve stammered.

"You don't shay it though do you?" Scarlet took another step forward, taking a gulp from the bottle she held. "You don't shay I'm an ugly old whore?"

"Of – of course not"

"Am I ugly?" Scarlet reached one hand up behind her back and pulled the hook that held her dress up loose. Reeve clapped his hands over his eyes as the material fell away revealing her thin pale body clad in black underwear. "Look at me Reeve! Am I ugly? Ish thish the body of an ugly old whore?"

"Scarlet... you're drunk. Go home for both our sakes!"

"Look at me Reeve! Tell me I'm ugly!"

Reeve stood with his hands over his eyes, shaking slightly. His mind had gone numb, he couldn't think of anything to say that would rid himself of the drunk and raving Scarlet.

"Reeve....." Her voice was shaking, whether with anger or sorrow he didn't know. He took his hands away from his eyes, and forced himself to look at her.

She wasn't beautiful. But nor was she particularly ugly. Flesh had started to sag in places, but not so much it spoiled the lines of her body. The underwear detracted from her, clearly made for someone younger and slimmer.

"You're not ugly Scarlet." Reeve turned his head away, knowing he was flushed with embarrassment.

Scarlet stared at the man. He wasn't looking at her, some sense of modesty drove his eyes away from her. _But that was Reeve all over wasn't it?_ _Always polite, always proper, never allowing his eyes to wander or his tongue to wag._

"You poor shweet innocent lucky bashtard" she said, somewhat incoherently. "You could do anything you wanted to me in the shtate I'm in."

She saw him frown. He didn't answer her, just continued looking at the ground.

From somewhere deep in her soul Scarlet found a sense of respect and awe. She had known many men – and all of them would have reacted by either screwing her silly or throwing her out. She felt tears come to her eyes as she compared him against them. 

__

Why couldn't I have known someone like him when I was young? Someone who actually cares about people...

Her first harsh sob startled Reeve into looking back up. Scarlet was weeping, her makeup running in streaks down her cheeks. Reeve watched her in shock as she sank to the ground, a horrible choked wailing noise coming from her.

"Scarlet..." He took a step towards her, unsure of what to do. "Calm down... please calm down."

She continued crying, her face hidden in her hands. Reeve couldn't stand it, if she was upset he had to comfort her.

Sinking down next to her he put his arm around her thin shoulders, feeling them jerk with the force of sobs. She turned her head, pressing it into his chest, soaking it with tears and mascara. He stroked her back, making a soft wordless comforting noise he used on the stray cats he took to his apartment on cold nights. He could smell her, a mixture of alcohol, cigarettes and cheap perfume. 

Even after she had cried herself out she couldn't make herself leave the warm comfort of his arms.

-~-~-~-

"What did he say?" Rude asked.

Elena sniffed, reaching for her coat. "Noth – nothing important."

"Why are you crying?" _Damn you Reno, couldn't you even give her one chance?_

"I'm not." Elena struggled into the thick jacket. "It's hay-fever."

"..........." Rude watched as she buttoned up her coat, pausing only to wipe her eyes on the back of her hand. 

Elena did up the last button and headed towards the door. Just as she was about to step through it Rude spoke again.

"If you run away now you'll prove him right."

-~-~-~-

Reno yawned. The interlude with Elena had been highly amusing but she was unlikely to return and the rest of the evening stretched out before him like...

__

....Like a time desert. Yeah. A great empty sandy beach of time. With lemonade stands and girls in bikini's. Or something... maybe not lemonade stands actually. Damn meta-whatsits, and similie-thingys.

Reno shook his head. _I've definitely been here too long if I'm thinking up crap like that! At least I get out of here tomorrow. Dammit, I'm even looking forward to work....._

The door slammed open, bouncing off the wall with a bang. Reno jumped, his hand going automatically to his electro-mag rod. Elena stood in the doorway, her eyes flashing and her fists clenched.

"I demand an apology for the things you said earlier!" Her voice was louder than normal.

Reno crossed his arms and smirked. "Why should I? Every word was the gospel truth."

"It was not!" Elena marched into the room, and up to the hospital bed, leaning down so that her face was a couple of inches away from Reno's. "It was mean and nasty and completely wrong! So apologise or else!"

Reno narrowed his eyes. "Are you threatening me, little miss rookie?"

Elena's hands grabbed Reno by the front of the hospital shirt and yanked him even closer, so that their noses were almost touching. Unfortunately her elbow hit the button that controlled the angle of the bed, and with a sudden click of machinery the whole thing folded up, with the two Turks inside.

"OW! £$%!@ my rib! You bitch!" Reno's voice, suddenly high-pitched with a mix of pain and fury emitted from the tangle.

"Owowowowowow! Move your elbow! Move your elbow!" Elena's voice, similar in tone to Reno's also came.

"I can't! _Get your knee out of my ribcage!_"

"I'm trying! I'm trying!" 

There was a burst of muttered curses and creaking noises and then Reno screamed. 

"Not there! Don't move it there!"

"Sorry!" 

There was more creaking and then the bed sprang back outwards, catapulting them both off the bed and onto the floor. Elena stood up, pink with embarrassment and stuttering apologies. Reno curled up on the ground, one hand on his rib and the other clasped protectively round his more sensitive area.

"Oh Reno I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"Neo-Turk Light" Reno said through gritted teeth.

"Wha- Aaaaaah!"

The electrical spell slammed into the blonde and threw her up against the wall which crumbled under the force of the magic. Bits of rubble sprayed across the outside corridor and Elena landed and skidded through the mess.

She ended up sliding to a halt at the feet of the new President, Rufus Shinra.

-~-~-~-

Rude left the building, heading to the spot where his car was parked. He was tired, his broken night and the subsequent investigation into the events of that night had taken their toll. This, combined with his sense of confusion over his feelings about Tifa and the knowledge that he would now be considered a "traitor" if his part in Avalanche's escape came out, left him looking forward to the solitude of his apartment.

He pulled out his keys, and sorted through them, barely aware of his surroundings.

"Sleep" The voice – Joanna's voice – came from directly behind him. He started to turn but the spell worked quickly and before he could face her it released a rush of melatonin into his brain and he slept.

-~-~-~-

A/N: A short chapter again – but I think I covered a lot of ground. I did mention I wasn't very experienced at writing romance and I'm not entirely happy with the Reeve/Scarlet section (I like the _idea_ I'm just not sure I carried it off right ^_^). 

Blatant Plug _http://showcasecomics.co.uk/turks/_. Worth a look if you like the Turks. Seriously ^_~ 


	16. No One Tells Me Anything

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Sixteen: No One Tells Me Anything

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Rude came round slowly. He kept his eyes shut, feigning unconsciousness and concentrated on assessing his surroundings. 

He was in a car, that much was obvious from the feel of the seats, the sound of the engine and the swaying movement. His hands and feet had been tied. He tested the knots gently, feeling the thick rope rasp against his skin. They were firm, well-tied. 

He opened his eyes a crack, then fully when he realised he still had his sunglasses. The car was his. His blue jacket had gone, along with his gun and materia. 

The car swerved round a corner, taking it at such a sharp angle he was thrown back against the seat. He kept himself loose and floppy, he didn't want his return to consciousness to be noticed yet.

When the car swerved the other way though, he had no way of stopping the sharp exclamation that was forced from him as he slid the length of the seats and slammed into the far door. 

"!"

"Awake now Rude? You've been out for ages... I was _worried_!" Joanna's voice was shrill, and as they skidded round another bend, accompanied by a frenzied scream of tires, Rude recalled that Joanna couldn't actually drive.

"Joanna."

"I thought I'd pick you up after work today. I hope you don't _mind_. I've got a nice cup of _tea_ waiting for you at home. No sugar, not too milky! Just the way you like it!"

".............." Rude twisted both hands down to his back pocket and managed to hook two fingers inside. 

"Of course you'll have to stay out of the way when my _friends_ come round!" Her voice, unnaturally bright and perky, filtered back to him over the noise of the engine and the tires. Rude felt around inside his pocket and located his penknife. Catching it between two of his fingers he managed to pull it free of his trousers.

"You remember _Christina_ don't you?"

"How could I forget her." The bitter words contrasted with his emotionless voice. Joanna frowned, turning her head round to look at him as the car sped through a set of red lights.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"........nothing" Rude held the penknife between his index and middle fingers on his right hand, and tried to hook his thumbnail into the groove on the edge of the knife.

"If you've got a problem you should _talk_ about it." Joanna said, starting up the old argument once again.

"This is pointless Joanna. You can't force me to stay with you."

The car bounced over a kerb, scraping the corner of a house and bending a wing mirror. Joanna leaned over the back of the seat, on hand on the steering wheel and the other pointing an accusing finger at Rude.

"You _promised_ you'd stay with me! You said you'd stay with me forever and ever."

Rude felt the penknife spin out between his fingers as the car bounced across the opposite kerb, and fall down behind the seat. Sitting up slowly he twisted his arm round and forced his two hands after it.

"..........." He met Joanna's gaze, wanting to distract her from what he was doing. "Too bad."

"Too bad!?" Joanna glared at him, before a sudden burst of honking and a scream of brakes from the road pulled her gaze away from him. They had somehow found their way onto the sector three highway, and cars were swerving to avoid them, in more cases than one crashing into each other. Rude closed his eyes and the side of his little finger touched the cold plastic shell of the penknife.

"Oh Rude! You've no idea how accurate that is! It really was "too bad"! Too bad for me to cope with! What was I supposed to think when you just upped and left for Junon for two years? To become a _Soldier_ no less! You bet that was _too bad_!"

".........." The knife slid open, cutting into his palm as it did so. 

The car shot down the highway, completely out of control. Swerving around the lane it collided with another car which sent it spinning off the road and through the barrier that separated the road from the streets. As the car skidded across the pavement a single pedestrian walked calmly towards them. 

Joanna screamed as Rude suddenly yanked his hands apart, the cut ends of the rope soaked in blood. He jumped forward, grabbing hold of the hand brake and pulling it up. Gears ground against each other, and the car slammed into the pedestrian before slowly coasting to a stop, smoke pouring from the bonnet.

-~-~-~-

Elena stared up at the man stood over her, eyes wide with horror. 

"O-oh no!"

"Who the hell is he?" Reno uncurled slightly and looked belligerently through the broken wall at the blonde man who stood there, looking supercilious. He returned Reno's gaze, flicking his hair back as he did so.

"That's President Rufus Shinra!" Elena scrambled to her feet and saluted. Reno looked from her to Rufus.

"What happened to the old one?" He said, somewhat confused.

"You don't know!?" Elena turned to him, suprised.

"No one told me we had a new President! Dammit, what's been going on!?"

"Septhiroth killed the old President! Didn't you hear?"

"_What!?_" Reno gaped at her. "But Septhiroth is – he disappeared ages ago!"

"And now he's back." Rufus interrupted coolly. "You appear to be somewhat behind the times, Turk."

Reno scowled at the pointed barb. "My only source of information has been Rude, _sir_, I don't know if you've met him yet but he's not exactly the fountain of all knowledge."

"I'm sure my predecessor relied on word of mouth and gossip to get important news around. In future all the Turks, and Head's of Departments must report to me at the start of the day in order to be updated. Obviously this means you'll have to come into work at least half an hour earlier." Rufus smirked "Now, your doctor informs me that you'll be ready to return to work tomorrow."

The doctor saluted smartly from behind the President, smiled nervously and said;

"It looks as though further damage might have been caused by uh...." he waved at the scattered rubble.

"Hmmm." Rufus frowned at the doctor. "I want him functioning in two days at the most, understood? These are dangerous times doctor, with terrorists and Septhiroth and Odin only knows what else. I want all the advantages I can get."

"Y-yes sir! But you do have the two other Turks and the replacement." The doctor indicated Elena, still stood to attention nearby. Rufus shot her a brief glance.

"Yes, but none of them have Reno's special ability." Rufus turned and left, coat flying out behind him as he strode from sight.

"Half an hour earlier...?" Elena said, when he had gone.

"Two days....." The doctor groaned.

"Special ability...." Reno scowled in the direction Rufus had disappeared in.

-~-~-~-

Reeve awoke. For a minute he was completely disorientated. Then he remembered and sat up quickly, looking about him.

Scarlet had gone, all that remained was a trace of her smell. And, Reeve noticed, a folded note on his desk.

He stretched and then stood up, wishing desperately for a strong cup of coffee. Rubbing his eyes, he picked up the note and opened it.

__

Reeve – mention this to anyone, including me, and I will personally make sure you die a slow painful death. – Scarlet

Reeve shook his head and sighed. Dropping the note into his wastepaper bin, he picked up his sheets of calculations and went in search of Rufus.

-~-~-~-

Rude yanked open the car door and hurried round to the front. Plenty of people on the top plate had the power to make life very difficult for anyone who hurt them, accident or no.

The man the car had hit was crawling down the street determinedly, one leg was mangled, and he left blood in a sticky trail behind him. Joanna scrambled free of the car after Rude, looking around her, dazed. Then she saw the blood and her eyes went wide. 

"Stop! You're hurt!" Rude called after the man, who ignored him completely. Rude wondered if the guy was in shock and hurried after him. Joanna followed.

They caught up with the guy quickly, and Rude knelt down in front of him, grabbing hold of his shoulders to make him stop moving. Joanna knelt down too, examining his leg. 

"This is bad." She looked at Rude, worry and shock written across her features. "What are we going to _do_?"

But Rude wasn't listening, he was looking at the man's arm. Joanna looked too, and saw that the cloth of his shirt had torn away, revealing a tattoo of the number 17.

"Hojo......." Rude muttered, and pulled out his PHS.

-~-~-~-

A/N: Not a lot to say about this chapter. Hope you like it.

Next up: Tseng gets to do what he does best, Rude and Joanna have a heart-to-heart.


	17. Love's a Funny Thing

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Seventeen: Love's a Funny Thing 

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Hojo raised the hypodermic needle and examined the clear amber liquid within. Unable to see any flaw in the colour he lowered the point and pumped it into the large wolf-like dog lying unconscious on the table.

"What number is he in the series Hojo?" Tseng's voice came from behind him.

Hojo frowned and removed the needle. "She is number 13b as a matter of fact. Since you let the last number 13 escape."

"We did." Tseng agreed mildly. "Although we were somewhat busy cleaning up the mess one of your other experiments left behind at the time."

Hojo placed the needle down on a nearby cloth and turned to face the Turk. For a second the two men studied each other. Hojo saw the shadowy man who he had always thought of as the President's personal bodyguard. He had never thought much about him, except to wonder why he had never undergone the basic Mako infusion all military Shinra personnel had. 

Tseng saw the man he had privately blamed for everything in Shinra that was evil and purposeless. Tseng understood why sometimes certain things had to happen for the benefit of the majority, but he had long ago decided Hojo's experiments had no real use.

"Why are you here?" Hojo broke the silence, tapping the surface of the table impatiently. On it, the dog stirred and whined softly.

Tseng smiled slightly. "That line of numbers designate a different series than the Septhiroth clones I assume?"

Hojo raised his face. The light reflected off his glasses, hiding his eyes and making him look rather like an insect. "The clones project was stopped" He spat bitterly. "The President believed it was dangerous."

"I remember." Tseng moved from his spot, strolling round the laboratory and examining the various pieces of apparatus. "What number did it get up to?"

Hojo turned, his eyes following the Turk around the lab. "It reached 5. With two pilot studies. I don't see why you can't get this information from the files, I'm extremely busy."

"Busy hmm? Well, you're in luck there." Tseng picked up one of the surgical knives and held it up to the light, watching the way the light gleamed off the edge. Hojo waited for him to expand, and then, when it was clear he wasn't going to, said; "Indeed. I suppose the new President is going to stop another of my projects."

"You're paranoid Hojo. Someone might think you were hiding something." Tseng looked sideways at the scientist. "Say... another 30 or so clones. Minimum."

Hojo turned away, unable to stop the sudden twitch in his sallow skin. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Clones that are leaving Midgar in droves. Clones seemingly immune to pain, or indeed anything except getting out. Seems even being run over doesn't stop them."

"Now you're paranoid." Hojo spat, examining the dog. "The President banned all experiments on humans. All I have used as subjects are animals and the Ancient."

Thunk! The knife landed in the surface of the table, a hair-width away from Hojo's hand. The scientist froze, looking at the knife. 

"President Rufus believes you should take a holiday." Tseng said calmly. "He thinks you've been working too hard. And whilst you're on holiday he's going to get some people to sort out all your paperwork, tidy up the laboratory, that kind of thing. And if they happen to find some traces of human experimentation – say more in the clone series – well, we'll just have to have another chat, yes?"

Hojo said nothing, still looking at the knife. Then he nodded silently and looked back at Tseng. "Very well. I understand completely."

-~-~-~-

Joanna sat in the office, feeling completely bewildered. Her plan to "rescue" Rude had stirred up a nest of confusion. 

Firstly he no longer seemed quite the same as when he had left her. There was an underlying hardness to him, and a sense of detachment from his surroundings. As though he had seen things that left him dried out.

Secondly they had knocked down one of the strangest men she had seen. She kept seeing him dragging himself along the pavement with his arms, his leg strung out behind him and pooling blood.

Thirdly she had been brought high-up into the Shinra Inc building. She knew, as everyone did, that after the 60th floor things got pretty serious. She hadn't seen what number Rude had pressed but she had a nasty feeling in her gut that it had been over 60. 

__

I thought he was a Shinra Guard... What has he been up to?

__

I can't stand this waiting. What if he leaves me here forever? 

The door opened suddenly, as though to mock her thoughts. Rude entered the room silently and looked at her.

"Rude! What's going _on?_"

He continued to look at her. His silence frustrated her, the way it always had. _Answering a question isn't hard!_

"Answer me for Holy's sake!"

"......you shouldn't have tried to kidnap me."

"You shouldn't have _left_ me!"

"Joanna, that's in the past. Perhaps I shouldn't have left you........But there's lot's of things I shouldn't have done that are worse than that."

"Hah! Betrayal is pretty far up the list as far as bad things go Rude! You devastated my life, you do know that don't you?"

".........." Rude shook his head. "This is pointless. Talking doesn't solve anything."

"Why did you leave me?"

"..........."

"Why Rude!? Why did you?"

"Because I wanted to."

Joanna blinked. "That's not an answer! Why did you _want_ to leave?"

Rude shook his head again. "Because I didn't want to stay with you."

"Why not?"

".........."

"Rude....."

"......Because I didn't love you."

"Why?" Joanna was getting angry. _He keeps giving me answers that aren't answers!_

"Because I didn't. We can't control who we fall in love with. Or who we fall out of love with." Rude stopped. He didn't like explaining things, he never managed to convey what he really meant.

"Was there someone else?" Joanna asked, already suspecting that the answer would be yes.

"Not then. Not since." Rude decided Tifa didn't count since he was unlikely to ever develop a relationship with the terrorist.

"You're _lying_. Nobody just 'falls _out_ of love!'"

Rude sighed. "Fine....."

Joanna crossed her arms, determined to get the full story from him. She wasn't expecting what happened next.

Rude pulled the gun out from his jacket and pointed it straight at her face. Joanna's eyes went wide with shock and she started to stand up before an abrupt movement from the man sent her back down again. She stared at him, her mind a sudden knife-edge of fear.

"......Leave me alone." Rude said "Forget everything that happened today. Go home, and pretend none of this happened."

Joanna stayed where she was, shaking.

"Otherwise......." There was a sudden click from the gun. Joanna closed her eyes, feeling a sob force it's way out from her.

"Go home. Now."

She stood up and near ran from the room.

-~-~-~-

Elena quickly moved round the corner as the woman came running out, her mind buzzing with the new information she had overheard.

__

I really should stop doing this, she thought, _Tseng wouldn't be happy if he knew I was...I guess spying.... on the other Turks. But it's not my fault I was passing by at the time right? _

Poor Joanna. I think she does still love him. But I guess Rude couldn't help leaving...

Why do relationships have to be so complicated anyway?

Elena found her thoughts drifting round to Tseng, a certain puzzlement coming over her.

__

None of the three guys seem to have relationships. They're either not interested, or in Reno's case only interested in one part of it. Is it because they're Turks? I guess the hours and things doesn't really help. I mean being called up in the middle of the night could get old fast...

But if that's all that's holding them back I guess another Turk would be perfect for a relationship! Elena smiled, happy that her thoughts had generated a positive conclusion. Her good mood continued even after her PHS buzzed and Tseng ordered her to get prepared and meet him and Rude outside Mithril Mines. 

"We're going after Septhiroth." He explained, "Hopefully intercepting him at Junon. We're taking the long way round because Rufus wants us to find out if these clones Rude discovered know anything we don't. Be careful crossing the marshes." He ended the call without waiting for a reply. Elena sighed. 

__

Back to work I guess...

-~-~-~-

A/N: Two chapters in one update. Aren't you lucky? Hope you're keeping track of the separate plot lines ^_^ I'm moving the emphasis off romance for the next chapter. The story is evolving slightly differently to how I expected, that old saying about the characters going off and doing their own thing really is true! 

Next up: Midgar Zolom, Reno recovers and Tseng clicks.


	18. That Gorgeous Wutaian

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Eighteen: That Gorgeous Wutaian

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

"Fire 2, all!" Elena shouted, the flames spinning across the grassy field and incinerating the two mangy looking birds that had attacked her. As she watched they dissolved into ash and a few grey feathers, which were quickly dispersed by the wind.

"Well you wanted some excitement..." She muttered, pushing her hair out of her eyes. It seemed like there was a never-ending supply of various monsters strolling the plains between Midgar and the Mithril Mines. Having to stop every few minutes to fight off yet another team of mutant birds, tiny elephants, and foul swelling ground monsters was rapidly becoming an annoyance.

"Why can't they just eat each other?" She continued walking south, hoping to see the mines come into view soon.

Around half an hour later her wish was granted, the wide mountain range that divided the continent swinging away to the side, marking the edge of the marshland. Across the marshes was the entrance to the mine, currently too small to be seen.

Her spirits restored by the sight she paused and took a swig from her flask of water and checked her materia and accessories. She was still marvelling over them. The Manager of Equipment and Supplies had asked her what she wanted, and, recalling the time she had accidentally set her kitchen alight, she had asked for the fire materia. Of course materia was cheap and easy to get hold of, but it rarely came fully mastered. The star pendant was slightly less thrilling, but it had proved useful when dealing with the smelly-sewer-things. And it was kind of pretty, though it really didn't go well with the suit.

Putting the flask away she stepped into the marsh.

It was, like most marshes, made up of thick gloopy mud covered with a thin layer of rotting alga. Tiny black insects buzzed everywhere, making consistent tiny ripples and rings as they landed and took off. A thick choking smell hung over the surface, making Elena cough.

As she walked she watched her feet kicking up goblets of mud and plants. Every step seemed to disturb thousands of the insects.

And then the marsh rose up behind her, a great fountain of goo that showered down over her, covering her in foulness.

"Ahh! What the-" An enormous shadow was hovering over her. Turning slowly, her eyes widened.

Then she ran for it, racing towards the mine entrance as fast as she could. Behind her the giant swamp snake curled gracefully through the air, arching over her head, twisting its thick neck round and placing it's serpentine head directly in front of her. She screeched to halt, almost on it's lip, and turned to run the other way, only to find it's body was coiled round her, blocking off all escape routes.

"Oh _shit!_" 

She pulled out her gun, fairly certain her punch wouldn't damage it's gnarled and knobbled grey-white scales. Its flat head and snout gaped open, revealing almost ridiculously long white teeth dripping with yellow-tinged saliva. She caught her breath and almost missed the long tail coming snapping round towards her, but caught it out of the corner or her eye and jumped, it flashed harmlessly underneath her, sending up a spray of mud. She turned her attention back to the head, and took aim at one small red eye. As it's head came forward towards her she took a deep breath and fired.

It screamed, a high-pitched unearthly sound like nothing she had heard before. It's head lashed back, and it's tail came whipping back round, ready to crush her. She scrambled to one side, and fired the gun again, this time at the other eye. The monster, blinded and with rivers of blood coming from each ravaged eye, turned and dived back beneath the surface of the marsh. In a second the marsh was still again, as though it had never come up.

Elena panted, feeling the mud dripping off her, our of her hair, over her nose, rivulets running down her back, soaked up past her hips and with splatters covering every other part of her.

She shook her head, feeling trickles curving round the back of ears. "Dammit... I can't let Tseng see me like this!"

-~-~-~- 

Rude waited patiently just inside the entrance to the Mithril Mines. Tseng had already entered the mines, searching for any of the clones that had come this way. They were just waiting for Elena.

"Rude! Is Tseng around?" The voice hissed at him from outside the mine. Rude turned and saw Elena hovering uncertainly in the space between the marsh and the place where a Midgar Zolom had been spiked on a lone tree. She was watching it anxiously, as though expecting the snake to come alive at any moment, and considering the state of her Rude thought he could guess why.

"Yes."

"Damn! Lend me your water flask would you?" 

Rude handed it over, and Elena disappeared past him and down a side-tunnel. Rude waited, and when Elena emerged three minutes later she was clean and fresh, although a little pink. Rude rolled his eyes, unseen. 

"Come on." Rude started walking down the tunnel. "We're to search the mines for clones, and then head onto Junon. Tseng's going back to Midgar."

"Why?" Elena asked, disappointed.

Rude shrugged. "Scarlet ordered him back."

"And in Junon we're intercepting Septhiroth right?"

Rude was silent for a few minutes. "Something like that."

Elena frowned, confused.

"Split up." Rude said, indicating a fork in the tunnel. Elena obediently headed right, and found herself going upwards. After a few minutes she stood on a stone outcropping a few metres above the floor of a cavern. A second later Rude came out of a different tunnel below her.

"Hey Rude..." She started.

"Shh." Rude turned to face a tunnel entrance across the cavern. Elena listened, and heard steady footsteps and a soft murmur of voices coming towards them.

-~-~-~-

Reno waited with suppressed impatience as the doctor examined his side. He had been stuck in this bed without good food, drink or girls, for far too long. 

"Hmm..." The doctor stroked his chin thoughtfully, and Reno resisted an urge to punch him in the face. "I don't know."

"I'm fine! It's healed! For Odin's sake let me out of this goddamn bed!"

"Well, if I let you out before it's fully healed there could be complications..."

"It is fully healed! Christ!"

"Well...." The doctor thought about Rufus and made his decision. "Alright. You may leave, as long as you take it eas-"

"Whoo-hoo!" Reno leapt out of the hospital bed and grabbed his Turk uniform, hopping towards the door as he pulled up his trousers and yanking on his jacket as he disappeared down the corridor. The doctor sighed and started the tedious task of getting the bed changed ready for the next patient.

"I really hate my job...."

-~-~-~-

Elena blinked as the three terrorists entered the cavern. Seeing them in the flesh was strangely intimidating even after reading the files and watching them on CCTV. The one named Cloud had the most piercing gaze she had seen, it raked the cavern, and seemingly burning away it's shadows. On his left stood the Ancient, trailing slightly behind Cloud and looking round the cave with interest. On his right was barkeeper, the one called Tifa. She was clearly alert, flat wiry muscles tense in her arms and legs.

"Just a second." Rude spoke quietly. The three switched their attention to him. Tifa answered first.

"Who are you?"

"Do you know who I am?" Rude asked. Elena thought she caught something in Rude's voice, a slight alteration of his usual monotone.

"From the Turks right?" Cloud sounded annoyed.

__

As though we're just an inconvenience. Elena thought crossly to herself.

"Well if you know, this won't take long." Rude seemed unperturbed by the tone in Cloud's voice. "It's difficult to explain what the Turks do..."

"Kidnapping, right?" Cloud moved slightly so he was further in front of the Ancient.

"To put it negatively... you could say that... But, that's not all there is to it, anymore......." Rude paused, and considered, looking around him and then at the floor. "..........."

"Sir!" Elena spoke suddenly, wanting to help Rude find the right words. "It's all right, Rude! I know you don't like speeches, so don't force it!" 

She wasn't quite expecting the Avalanche group to all switch their attention to her. The combined weight of their gaze was unnerving.

"...Then Elena, explain." Rude seemed glad to offload the responsibility onto her. 

Elena cleared her throat and then took a breath. "I'm the newest member of the Turks, Elena. Thanks to what you did to Reno, we're short of people." She paused, frowning thoughtfully "...Although, because of that, I got promoted to the Turks.... In any case, our job is to find out where Sephiroth is headed." She nodded "And to try and stop you every step of the way." 

She started to turn away, but then a sudden thought occurred to her. "Wait a minute, it's the other way around. You're the ones that are getting in our way." 

"...Elena. You talk too much." Tseng came through into the cavern, looking faintly annoyed. Elena jumped, a sudden rush of embarrassment going through her. 

"Tseng!?"

"No need to tell them about our orders." 

"Sorry... Tseng." Elena dropped her eyes, feeling angry with herself. _I'm such an idiot! They're our enemies!_

"I thought I gave you other orders. Now go. Don't forget to file your report." 

Elena blinked, confused. _Other orders...?_ Then she remembered what Rude had said about going to Junon alone.

"Oh! Right!" She saluted, determined to regain some of her professionalism. "Very well, Rude and I will go after Sephiroth, who's heading for Junon Harbour!" 

Below her, Aeris giggled. 

"...Elena. You don't seem to understand." Tseng said, exasperated.

"Oh! I'm, I'm sorry..." 

"...Go. Don't let Sephiroth get away." 

"Yes sir!" Both Rude and Elena said at the same time. Rude climbed quickly up to the ledge where Tseng was stood. Elena hesitated and then scrambled down form her ledge.

As Rude reached the ledge, he turned back to the Avalanche members.

"...Reno said he wanted to see you after the injuries you gave him healed. He wants to show his affection for you all... with a new weapon." He glanced at them each in turn and then headed out of sight. 

Elena sighed and ran out of the cavern, realising she would have to take the long way round.

-~-~-~-

Tseng waited for both his Turks to leave the cave and then stepped forward and looked directly at Aerith. She met his gaze unfazed.

"Aerith. Long time no see. Looks like you got away from Shinra for a while, now that Sephiroth reappeared." 

"...so what are you saying? That I should be grateful to Sephiroth?" Aerith sounded defiant, as though expecting him to try something.

"No..." Tseng studied her. She was, he noticed, already losing the pale skin all lower-Midgar citizens had. The cross-country trek had started a tan. "Well, I won't be seeing too much of you, so take care." 

"...strange, hearing that from you." 

Tseng sighed. He would tell her what she wanted to hear. 

"Well then, stay out of Shinra's way." _She'll think of it as a threat, although it's just a warning. _

He had nothing more to say, so he turned and left the cavern. Scarlet had ordered him back, and as much as he'd rather have headed to Junon with Rude and Elena he couldn't disobey his superior. He just hoped Elena wouldn't do anything stupid.

-~-~-~-

Reno was in the office when he got back, sitting at his computer and apparently hard at work. He looked up as Tseng entered the room.

"Did you let the rookie use my computer?" He sounded amused, which suprised Tseng. He had expected him to be annoyed. 

"Yes. Why?"

Reno grinned. You should see some of the stuff she's got squirreled away on here. Things even I didn't know about."

"Like what?" Tseng frowned, as a fleeting memory crossed his mind.

__

....I was looking at the parallels between it and some of the rest of the information that has come from the Cetra and uh... I think it's linked with the lifestream..."

"Elena... You've been researching the Promised Land and the Cetra? May I ask why?"

"Oh! I uh... I was um..." 

"Hmmm. Perhaps you'll make a good Turk after all. We'll discuss this at a later date....

Tseng sighed. He had forgotten to follow that up, and he was unlikely to have another chance for a while.

"Jeez Tseng, you were a drug runner when you were 16? And tried for the Jujitsu World Championship when you were 18? Only made it to the fourth round I see...Oh, nice photo!"

"What!?" Tseng came round the side of desk, and blinked at the sight of a long buried photo of him at 18, being disqualified for attempting to throttle his opponent in the Championship.

"Where did that come from?" Tseng demanded.

"Well I found it in a folder titled 'that gorgeous Wutaian'. And I know that ain't something was on here before I went into hospital." Reno leant back in his chair, flicking through pictures. "My she's collected a lot... Holy crap! Nice hair!"

Tseng kicked the chair legs forwards, tipping Reno over backwards and sprawling him across the floor.

"I'm going to kill her." He muttered, deleting the folder of pictures, and noticing with a sinking feeling that there were plenty of other folders on the computer with similar names.

"Can I help?" Reno said hopefully from the floor.

Tseng glanced down at him. "No. Forget you saw these."

Reno grinned again, his mind turning to the printing session he had been enjoying before Tseng had shown up. "Sure."

Tseng shook his head, selecting all the folders and hitting delete. "Where did she get all these from?"

Reno sat up. "I think someone's got a secret admirer!" he said in a sing-song voice. "Tseng and Elena, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I"

"Reno, I know you have the mental age of a five year old, but I would appreciate it if you kept your childish antics out of my earshot."

"Sure thing sir." Reno said. "I'll just go and find Rude, amaze him with my singing skills instead. I'm sure he'll be happy to listen to me."

Tseng glared at the red-haired Turk. "You'll do nothing of the sort. I'll discuss this with Elena, you'll keep your mouth shut. Understood?"

"Yes sir." Reno said, giving his boss an innocent look. Tseng groaned inwardly.

"Changing the subject... I want you to take a helicopter out to Junon. Meet up with Rude and Elena there. Sephiroth is heading that way and I want you three to intercept him and find out what he's up to. Don't fight him, that would be suicide."

Reno wrinkled his nose. "Ah, I bet his skills were exaggerated. And he's probably gotten a bit out of shape over the last few years. I could take him."

"Reno, you had problems coping with Avalanche. Don't even think about challenging Sephiroth. His skills weren't exaggerated. If anything they were downplayed. Stay out of sight, watch him, and report back to me."

"Yes sir." Reno climbed back to his feet, taking his sunglasses of the desk and perching them on the top of his head. "Wish me luck and all that crap."

-~-~-~-

A/N: A lengthier chapter for you. I lost my beta-reader so it's probably full of typo's. Sorry about that ^.^;; Plus, I just hit the 40 review mark. Thanks to everyone who reviewed so far, keep 'em coming!

Next up: Junon and Joanna.


	19. Proving You Don't Need Balls to be the B...

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Nineteen: Proving You Don't Need Balls to be the Best

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Joanna pulled the duvet straight and tucked the edge under the mattress. She then plumped the pillows, two on the left side, two on the right, and carefully placed them parallel to the headboard. She stood back and studied the double bed for a moment and then turned and surveyed the rest of the room.

The first thing people noticed about the bedroom was the way everything was in pairs. A double bed was in the centre, with matching reading lights on matching side tables. On a diagonal to the side tables were matching cane chairs, with matching throws draped over the top. Further along the wall to the chairs were matching chests of drawers, each with matching ornaments. Opposite to the double bed was a large symmetrical wardrobe with two swing doors, one for her and one for...

She shook her head and opened her wardrobe door, checking herself in the full length mirror inside. Her hair was beginning to show roots, she noticed. She would have to decide if she wanted to redo it or go back to being dark haired.

Shutting the door, she picked up the shoulder bag that sat in the middle of the floor. It was heavy, and she was forced to lean slightly to the right in order to compensate.

Crossing over to the door, she paused and surveyed the room again. Then she opened the door and stood in it. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a little packet of matches, the kind which you snapped out. She broke one off with a sharp crack, then breathed deep and struck it.

"Good bye."

The lit match landed in the middle of the bed, which quickly caught alight. Flames spread greedily across it, leaping onto the side tables. It had reached the cane chairs by the time she had shut the door behind her.

-~-~-~-

"Tseng. You made it. Kya ha-ha-ha!" Scarlet put one hand on her hip, tilting her head back slightly as she laughed. 

"Yes ma'am." Tseng waited patiently for her to tell him why she had summoned him back to Midgar.

"I have two things I needed to discuss with you. Both are top secret – not even Rufus should know about them. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Good." Scarlet paused and tapped one long red nail against her cheek thoughtfully. "The first is simply an advantage I'm passing over to the Turks to use as they wish."

Tseng waited, his face betraying none of the interest her words had created.

"Reeve" she said the name with a sneer and Tseng wondered what grudge she had developed against the inoffensive Urban Development Head. "Has created himself a toy. A robot cat to be precise, a silly thing that tells fortunes."

"Yes?"

"It's currently at Gold Saucer. I think it would be useful as a spy. Who would suspect a big toy of harbouring any secrets? Kya-ha-ha! I was going to use it to track down Avalanche but I can't be bothered with it now – I have bigger fish to fry." She sat on the edge of her desk, smiling, and crossed her ankles. "So... talk to Reeve if you have any idea's for it."

"Yes, thank you." Tseng had his doubts that any robot could be useful to the Turks but he kept them to himself.

"Secondly – Rufus. Our new president. Kya-ha-ha!"

"Yes?"

Scarlet studied her foot, biting her bottom lip. She was debating whether to share her recent thoughts with the Turk, but she did need someone's feedback and Heidegger seemed too anxious to get on Rufus right side to be trusted. True, a Turk couldn't be trusted either, but she felt fairly certain she could keep Tseng in line.

"The late President Shin-Ra" she said, glancing back up to Tseng "had one of the most powerful minds of any man. We all played our part in the building of Shinra and development of Midgar but he alone had the master plan. He oversaw the whole process, balanced out all the factions, oversaw the war with Wutai. He had the skill of managing people, which is both useful and rare."

"And now he's dead. Shinra is powerful, the most powerful force on this lousy planet. We're rich, strong, influential – but so were Wutai. And we still defeated them. Kya-ha-ha-ha! And do you know how we defeated them Tseng?"

"Superior military organisation, better weaponry and Sephiroth." Tseng answered without hesitation. 

"People." Scarlet said flatly. "Heidegger came up with the tactics. I built and used the weapons. And Hojo created Sephiroth."

Tseng frowned, wondering where this was going.

Scarlet leaned forward, propping her head up with her hand. "So we're powerful now. But let's look at what we're up against. Kya-ha-ha!"

"Sephiroth is against us this time, not with us. Hojo's best creation in anyone's view. All he's managed to produce since are mutant animals and those stupid clones."

"Avalanche. A small terrorist group that should have been crushed the second they dared attack us. They've killed Odin knows how many of my troops and I'm not getting replacements fast enough."

"All of the ignorant rabble of Wutai, Fort Condor and North Corel who blame us for their stupidity. They'll be more than ready to kick us when we're down."

"And who do we have to lead us against these forces? President Shinra is dead, his unmatched skill and experience have been lost to us. And what do we get to replace him?"

"Rufus." Tseng supplied.

"Exactly. A brat of what, 19? 20?"

"I believe he turned 20 two months ago."

"Yes. Barely out of his teens. Too young to have seen _anything_ of what made Shinra strong! A stupid arrogant boy who's had everyone obey his every whim since the day he was born! What does he know of diplomacy? What does he know of bluffing and lying? Nothing!" She spat the last word, her eyes glittering.

"........" Tseng found himself at a loss. To agree would have been tantamount to treason. To disagree would bring Scarlet's wrath down on him.

Scarlet jumped to her feet, and stalked across to the window that overlooked sector three. She placed both hands up against the glass, her breath steaming it up.

"I won't let him lose what I worked so hard to build" she whispered, staring down at the city. "I sweated blood to give birth to this company and I'll sweat blood again to keep it safe. Even if I have to take over and do it myself."

"Scarlet – ma'am. Give him a chance to prove himself first. Even if he loses the first battle you can step in and win the war." Tseng spoke quickly, desperate to keep Scarlet from doing anything reckless. He knew what mutiny could do to a group.

"Hmm...." Scarlet turned from the window and fixed her icy stare on Tseng. "Fine. One chance. And if he screws up..." she smiled again. "Just make sure you stay out of my way bodyguard."

-~-~-~-

Elena gave a shriek when she saw Junon. It was so much bigger than it had looked in postcards and travel guides! The gun in particular was awe inspiring, it's great shining length projecting out over the sea, slightly raised as though in salute. Her mouth open and her eyes wide and sparkling she forgot she was a Turk and became a tourist.

"Rude! Rude! Look at the streets! They go all the way up! And the buildings are inside! And look at all the machinery at the foot of the gun! Ooh, there's flags up for Rufus! Is he coming here? And wow, look at all the shops!"

"......"

"Ooh! They have a Chic! I have to go in there, they have some _beautiful_ shoes and they're suprisingly cheap!"

"....Elena...."

"And they have – oh!" Elena turned pink. "I-I'm sorry. We're here for Sephiroth right? So what do we do?"

"You go to Chic. We go hit the bar." Reno said from behind them. Elena spun round.

"Reno! You got out of hospital?"

Reno raised an eyebrow. "No, he's still in hospital. This guy in front of you is actually his long lost evil twin."

Elena frowned. "Reno has a twin?"

"Elena! Jeez you're dense!" Reno rolled his eyes. "Come on Rude, let's leave the love struck bimbo to her shoe shopping. I've got some serious drinking to catch up on."

"Wait!" Elena looked from Reno to Rude, confused. "What about Sephiroth?"

"What about him?" Reno gave Elena his best blank look.

"Are- Aren't we supposed to..."

Reno patted her gently. "There there. Don't worry your empty little head about it. Me and Rude'll handle the complicated stuff, you just concentrate on buying some nice shoes to impress Tseng with."

"_What!?-_" But to Elena's annoyance Reno and Rude were already disappearing down the street. She glared after them, willing the ground to open and swallow them, or maybe a seagull to fly past and let rip with a big sloppy poop.

Sadly neither came to pass and the two entered the bar, Reno apparently cracking a joke to Rude as they entered. Elena thought she caught the word rookie and her anger intensified.

"I am not standing for this dammit!" She shouted after them. "I am _not_ a bimbo or a rookie! And I'm going to do my job even if you're not!"

"That's the spirit." A guard who was leaning against the rail said mildly. Elena turned and glared. The guard raised their arms in mock surrender. "No need to turn on me. You have to cope with those two. I have to cope with the two thousand guards stationed here at Junon. Or used to have to cope anyway."

"You're a woman?" Elena's acrimony vanished, glad to have an ally.

"Last time I checked anyway." The woman laughed. "These uniforms are great for sucking the individuality out of ya huh? Well I guess you wouldn't know." The guard eyed Elena's Turk uniform thoughtfully. "So what're you? Undercover detective or something?"

"You don't know?" Elena asked suprised. The guard shook her head.

"It's been awhile since Midgar bothered sending any new troops over here. Of course now that Rufus is coming on a state visit-"

"Rufus is coming here?" Elena interrupted. 

"Yup. Didn't you see the flags? There's been a whole regiment of Midgar guards turn up with instructions for the parade. March like this, hold your gun like this... all very pretty but not so useful for real combat. Means I have to put another bunch of guys in their place though." The guard flexed her arm, grinning. "Just proving you don't need balls to be the best!"

Elena smiled. "I wish it was so easy to teach Reno. What's your name anyway?"

"Sandra. But call me Sandy. So do you want a tour or something? You seemed pretty impressed when you first walked in."

"That would be great! Thanks!" Elena grinned at Sandy, all thoughts of Sephiroth gone.

-~-~-~-

Joanna stepped off the helicopter and surveyed Junon, the place she had decided to rebuild her life, far from Rude and all memories of the past. The yellowish metal sheets the main part was built from seemed to catch the light and sparkle in a way that reflected her hopes. Her heart beating wildly with excitement and fear she strolled down the street, noticing the guards running about checking flags and bunting, rehearsing their drill, and here and there pausing for a quick chat. Most of the normal citizens were moving off the street and into the shops and buildings that existed in the main structure. On her other side the sea stretched away to the horizon, breaking the sunlight up into a thousand glittering shards.

Deciding to get a drink before booking herself into a hotel or inn she crossed the street, dodging a group of guards being berated by an irate commander in red, and entered the relative darkness of a bar.

It took a moment or two before her eyes adjusted to the light, and when they did she found herself looking at the man she had crossed a continent to avoid.

-~-~-~-

A/N: Hmm, another original character. Neither Joanna or Sandy are going to steal too much limelight from the Turks, but I don't see the games characters existing in a vacuum, other people are bound to have had an impact on their lives. So here are those people. 

Next up: Bar Brawl.


	20. Loneliness

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Twenty: Loneliness

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Tseng left Scarlet's office with a sense of apprehension. Her words had reinforced the negativity he had been feeling since Sephiroth had returned and Avalanche had escaped. It wasn't often Shin-Ra failed, and the two events coming so close together had shaken him.

__

What if she does try to take over? Where would the Turks loyalty lie? With the new President, the man who carries the name of Shinra, or to the people who built Shin-Ra, who we've been serving for far longer?

He started thinking ahead, trying to work out who would end up on which side if it did come to a mutiny. 

His thoughts were ended abruptly by a sudden scream that echoed along the corridor, ending with a long drawn out gurgle that signified death. He ran toward the sound, cursing under his breath when he realised it was coming from Hojo's lab – recently vacated by the scientist and under investigation by a team of guards.

"Shoot it! Shoot it!" The words came from one of the remaining guards, backed up against the wall of the lab with two others. All three were firing their machine guns across the room, towards a broken cage and a massive deformed bird with a two foot beak coated in blood. Three dead guards lay in crumpled heaps near the cage.

The bullets appeared to do little except enrage the bird, who opened its wings to their full, massive width and let out a choked screaming cry before ducking its head forward and racing towards the guards, the beak skewering one through the stomach. Throwing its head back the body sailed over the birds head and landed on top of the cage that had held the creature.

"Get out of here!" Tseng yelled at the two remaining guards. One complied instantly, fleeing the room. The other hesitated.

"But Sir...!"

"Now! I'll deal with it."

The guard hovered for a second and then ran for the door, leaving Tseng alone with the maddened monster.

-~-~-~-

"Y-y-y-you JERK!" Joanna screamed at the dark suited figure with sunglasses sat at the bar. "You _followed_ me! You _followed_ me! Right across the _country_! After what you _said_!"

"Joanna..." Rude said helplessly, more than aware that everyone else in the bar was watching the scene with the interest reserved for other people's domestic problems. 

"After pulling a _gun_ on me you have the _nerve_ to follow me to Junon! I was going to start a _new life_ and you have to show up like a _bad penny_ to ruin it before it's even started! I _hate_ you! Why can't you _leave me alone_!"

Rude gritted his teeth, the unfair accusation making his blood boil. More than a few people tutted disapprovingly at him and he heard one man say in an undertone "possessive sort I guess... probably can't get another girl..."

"Piss off lady." Reno could guess what the other Turk was feeling, despite his lack of expression, and intervened automatically.

"_Don't_ use that kind of language to me!" Joanna turned on the redhead, her own fury bubbling over. "What would _you_ know about betrayal anyway!"

"That 9 times out of 10 it's the woman's fault for being an overbearing, demanding selfish harridan – like you for example." Reno responded coolly.

"Here, don't talk to the lady like that!" One of the nearby drinkers stood up and moved towards the group, scowling angrily.

"I'll talk to her any damn way I please." Reno shot back.

The man clenched his fists. He was large, muscular, and looked around thirty. Thick dark hair covered his arms and extended across his chest, though much of that was hidden by the green shirt he wore. He spent his days lifting large crates on the dock and considered himself more than a match for the slim man lounging at the bar with a shot glass in one hand.

"I won't let you talk to the lady like that." He spoke quietly, but with unmistakable menace.

Reno raised his eyes to the mans. For a second he held the gaze and tension hummed through the bar. Everyone waited, frozen. Joanna stood with her mouth open, her gaze alternating between the two men.

"Fuck off woman." Reno said to her, sounding more amused than defiant. 

The green-shirted man roared with rage and pulled back one fist, Joanna sobbed and dived for cover, and Rude sighed and lifted his drink.

-~-~-~-

Elena and Sandy stood at the top of Junon Harbour, looking down on the bustle of the city as it prepared for the Presidential visit. They laughed as they saw one guard hanging up a long gold and red streamer have a sudden gust of wind yank the bunting from his hands and spin it out across the ocean. They laughed even harder when the guard chased after it and fell into the water. 

"When's Rufus coming anyway?" Elena asked.

"The President will be arriving tomorrow, sometime before noon." Sandy shrugged "They've arranged some parade and the TV crews are going to be here and everything. It's a pretty big event for Junon and the commanders are frantic that everything should turn out right."

Elena nodded "Good publicity I guess."

"Yep. Just hope the water serpent doesn't show." 

"Water serpent?" 

"There's this big water monster that comes up to Junon every now and then. Sometimes we get sent on a hunt, but it goes after the villagers more than us so nobody's too bothered."

"Ah...." Elena leant against the rail and followed the line of the gun with her eyes, trying to work out where it would hit. The sea stretched out beyond, the horizon shimmering and distracting her. The sun was setting, and rays of gold and bronze weaved through the sky, lighting up the clouds and spilling a rich amber hue over everything. Elena thought it was a much nicer view than the one from Midgar, and wished suddenly she lived in the harbour.

"I'm going to have to go now." Sandy said regretfully, picking up her helmet from where it rested against the rail. "Maybe I'll see you again sometime."

"Oh, I hope so." Elena smiled. Sandy nodded and started towards the main building, before pausing and looking back.

"You never did tell me what you did..."

Elena blinked. "Oh! I'm a Turk."

The golden light flickered round Sandy for a moment as she turned and stared at Elena, eyes wide. Then her face set and she spun round and marched away, her footsteps echoing sharply through the air.

Elena watched as she disappeared from sight, the happiness she had been feeling deserting her suddenly. She had seen the expression on Sandy's face, and she knew she would not be seeing the guard again. Behind her the sun slipped out of sight and a cold grey chill flooded the top layer of Junon, sucking out the colours that had shone before. 

Elena shook her head, trying to rid herself of the chill. _I guess I'll find the guys..._

-~-~-~-

Joanna ran down the road towards the harbour area. A boat was docked there, being loaded up by some Shinra guards. She hurried towards them.

"Excuse me! When does this boat leave?"

One of the guards looked at her. "Tomorrow, along with the President."

"Please, you've _got_ to let me on it!"

"What, now?"

"Yes! I'll spend the night there! I just _have_ to get away!"

The guard shrugged. "Well.... It does carry passengers normally but...."

"Please! I have money, I'll pay whatever it takes, but I _have_ to be on that boat when it leaves tomorrow!"

-~-~-~-

Elena reached the bar and entered, blinking as she saw the broken tables and chairs scattered around the dimly lit room. Rude and Reno were sat at the counter, being served by a frightened looking man. The rest of the bar was deserted.

Rude heard her come in but was too buried in his own thoughts to greet her. Reno studiously ignored her, waving to the bartender to refill his shot glass.

Elena walked over to them and picked up one of the stools that had not been broken. Setting it upright next to Rude's she sat down and looked down the counter at the two Turks.

"Reno... Rude..."

They turned their faces towards her, Rude's blank, eyes hidden, Reno's annoyed. 

"Do.. Do you have any friends? Apart from each other?"

Reno frowned. "What kind of question is that? Of course we've got friends! Heck, I'm always getting invites for parties and weddings and crap."

"I mean real friends." 

Reno rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Elena looked round the empty bar and listened to the silence. Rude and Reno were concentrating completely on their drinking. The bar was warm, but she was unable to shake the chill of the night outside.

-~-~-~-

A/N: This chapter took a while to piece together. I have certain events planned out, I know where the story ends, and I know more or less how it's going to all tie together, but every now and then I get stuck. I don't know if this chapter is good or bad ^^;; 

Next Up: Tseng and the Bird – And do you remember the shadow from a few chapters back? It is revealed to be....


	21. Friendship

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Twenty One: Friendship

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Tseng ducked as the bird's beak came shooting towards him. It slammed into the wall behind, ripping a hole through the metal and concrete. 

Tseng slid sideways, out from the gap between bird and wall. The monster was stuck for a second, it's curved yellow claws scraping fruitlessly at the metal as it tried to pull its head back. He took the opportunity to make a quick sweep of the surroundings. He was armed, but firing a gun in the laboratory – where one miss could send lethal chemicals everywhere – didn't strike him as a wise idea and was one reason he had ordered the guards out.

The bird yanked itself free and spun to face the enemy, claws screeching across the floor. It's bloated body swayed backwards and forwards as it focused on the dark shape of the man. Tseng eyed it thoughtfully, and then glanced towards the specimen lift, a reinforced glass dome at the far side of the room. 

The bird raced forwards again, beak lowered like a javelin. Tseng stepped to the right and watched the bird shoot past. 

"You're not very bright are you?" 

The bird spun round again, confused and annoyed. It turned its head sideways, red eyes glittering as it found the figure again. It let out an angry shriek and once again ran forward, determined to spear the elusive human.

Tseng waited until it was almost on him before diving sideways. The bird slid onwards helplessly, straight into the specimen lift. Tseng slammed the door shut behind it, the lock falling into place automatically.

"Definitely not very bright..." He watched the bird attack the curved walls of the dome in a desperate bid for freedom, feathers filling the space inside, until it gave up and sank in an exhausted heap in the middle of the floor.

He started to leave the lab, intending to find the two guards that had run off and investigate what had happened, but paused when he noticed the white envelope that lay on a nearby surgical table, addressed only to "Shin-Ra". Tseng picked it up and opened it.

__

My fellow employee's,

This is my letter of resignation. I feel Science has lost its power under you, you tame it and profit from it but that is all. The true thirst for knowledge means little if anything to you, and my best work is strangled at birth. Therefore I must leave.

My greatest project is about to show you the true potential of Science. I took the basic tenets of evolution and improved upon them, I merged the schools of biology, chemistry and psychology to create a unified wholeness. I am God, in that I have created a new life form, better that any that currently exist, including man.

I have left you everything else. The monsters in particular. One of the few puzzles I have not yet managed to solve is that of the difference between Man and Monster. Where is the line drawn? Physical appearance is not enough, a thing may look human but carry none of that which we associate with humanity. And by the same coin something that looks bestial may be more humanitarian than any man. I attempted to draw out the essence of humanity, to localise it, but sadly that was a failure. My follower may continue my experiments into this if he wishes.

I must admit to being somewhat disheartened by your lack of enthusiasm for my better projects. Therefore, in order to demonstrate a minor point about the power of Science I have taken the liberty of reversing one experiment you bade me do, and that has been extremely useful to you. One that was a result of my research into that which makes us human. You will find out which one I mean. Suffice to say it will affect those I felt most betrayed and threatened by. 

Science has touched and affected you all. I hope you will show it the respect it deserves in the future. Assuming you are still around of course.

Best Wishes – 

Dr. Hojo

Tseng folded the letter up and went in search of the President.

-~-~-~-

Reno had never managed to work out why hotels and inns always had rooms with three beds. Why three? Most travellers were either single businessmen or families on holiday. Either way three beds didn't work.

He also wondered why he had to share the room with Rude and Elena. True, there were three of them and there were three beds so it seemed logical. But they were Turks, they should get private rooms with en-suite bathrooms surely?

The third thing he wondered, and that which had caused his puzzlement over the other two oddities, was how Rude – practically the quietest guy in the world – managed to also be the loudest sleeper he had ever met. 

As another reverberating snore echoed around the room Reno gave up the fight for sleep. Sliding out of bed he searched around the floor under it for his clothes.

He found his trousers almost straight away, but his shirt took a little more effort, and when he finally pulled it out it was wrapped around something thin and rectangular. He hesitated, looking down at it. He knew what was inside, and he regretted adding it to the small amount of luggage he took on missions, but he hadn't known what else to do with it.

He pulled his shirt on without bothering to button it, and carried the object outside. It was a freezing night, the wind humming as it gusted about the streets of Junon, dragging at the flags and wires and whipping Reno's hair around.

He lit a cigarette, shivering. The sea stretched out before him, a dark seething mass reflecting the cold starlight above, and he felt for a moment as though he was caught between two infinities. Blowing out a lungful of smoke, he dispelled his thoughts and turned his attention to the object.

It was a science/personnel file, slightly larger than the ones he was familiar with. His name was printed on the front in neat capitals: Denli, Reno.

Part of him thanked Elena for smashing up his rib again. Because of her everyone had forgotten he'd been ready to return to work when the file went missing. Another part of him wondered at his sanity at stealing from Hojo of all people. The scientist already had a strange hatred of Turks which Tseng had attributed to one of their former members – Vincent? – causing some problems for the Sephiroth project. The details were hazy, but Hojo's dislike of anyone in a blue suit was well known. And a third part of him blamed Rude for stirring up his curiosity in the first place, with his probing questions into Reno's Mako treatment and scars which had created a mess of strange thoughts that he'd been unable to rid himself of.

__

All I've got to do is open the file and I'll know the truth. The real story. 

He hooked his fingers under the cover but didn't open it. He was cold, he was tired, and he wasn't sure he actually wanted to know what had been done to him. 

-~-~-~-

Tseng met Rufus just before the new President left the building, about to board the helicopter that would take him to Junon. Heidegger was there too and they both read the letter thoughtfully.

"Gya-ha-ha! Most interesting President!"

"Interesting is hardly the word Heidegger. When did Hojo leave?" Rufus directed the last question at Tseng.

"Two days ago sir."

"What could he have sabotaged before he went?"

"Almost anything. If he was working at night there would have been few people around, and no one would suspect him of deliberately reversing one of his own projects."

"Indeed. There is very little we can do now. Heidegger, you're in charge of tracking down Hojo and finding out what he has done. Tseng, you were already investigating his records and so forth, continue with your job but be aware of this." Rufus held up the letter.

"Yes sir." 

Rufus turned to get on the helicopter, but then paused and looked back. "I'm going to Junon, and a few other places. I'm assuming both Sephiroth and Avalanche have been dealt with. In particular I hope your Turks succeeded in eliminating Sephiroth at Junon."

"....Sephiroth hasn't arrived at Junon yet sir. When he does it will be our top priority to intercept him." _Although not necessarily to eliminate him._ _I don't intend to let all my Turks get killed just because you're underestimating his power._

"Hmmm." Rufus frowned slightly at Tseng and then climbed aboard the helicopter.

-~-~-~-

"Scarlet" Reeve felt uncomfortable in her office after the events of last time he had seen her, but Rufus had demanded he investigate who was stealing the power, and to his annoyance the trail had led to Heidegger's partner, the woman who controlled the army and it's equipment, Scarlet.

"Reeve" Scarlet sighed, feeling just as annoyed to see him. It had been unreasonable of her to expect never to see him again considering they worked together but still...

"Um..." Reeve looked down at the schematics he held and the photo's he had taken at the reactor that was losing power. They made up damning evidence against the woman, but Reeve really didn't feel he was the damning type.

"What do you want? Make it quick." She snapped.

"Oh er...." Reeve flushed "I didn't mean to bother you, I mean I know you're busy and all, but – " 

"Stop apologising and spit it out!"

"Er, yes, sorry – but it's about the reactor in sector three. Um, it appears someone's – " 

"Stealing power? Kya-ha-ha-aha-ha!" Scarlet laughed. Reeve turned a deeper shade of red.

"Er, yes."

"Quite the detective aren't you? I was expecting Tseng to arrest me, not you. Kya-ha-ha!"

"A-arrest? Oh I'm not – "

"Stealing from Shinra is a crime Reeve." Scarlet smiled. "However I have the power I need. So you can forget about it now. Kya-ha-ha!"

"Erm." Reeve looked down at the bits of paper in his hands. "Couldn't you have just taken the power legally? I mean – you are in charge of the army."

"Someone might have asked what I wanted it for." Scarlet shrugged. "It was easier to just modify the power output point so it didn't register on the meter."

"How did you alter the panel without cutting off the supply whilst you worked on it? It's pretty obvious someone rewired the circuitry and I don't see how that could be done while the power was on – unless you electrified yourself."

Scarlet sighed. "Reeve – you're a good electrician and I've no idea why you haven't figured it out for yourself. Mastered lightening materia. In a defence slot. Kya-ha-ha-ha! Makes things so much simpler." 

Reeve blinked. "Of course! But wouldn't it blow the circuit if you were conducting electricity and had a lightening materia?"

"It would have done." Scarlet agreed "But I made some modifications to the defence slot before hand, so most of the output was earthed."

"Really? Can I see what changes you made?" Reeve said, excited. "Something like this could revolutionise safety procedures! And it would be far easier to get into intricate circuits if we didn't have to worry about shielding and so forth."

"I suppose it would." Scarlet said, not having thought about safety procedures. "And that would increase efficiency and hence raise profits wouldn't it?"

"And cut the number of fatalities and work related accidents!"

"Less people to pay damages to – "

The two looked at each other. 

Reeve coughed. "Anyway. I'll leave you in peace." He hastily backed out through the door, dropping a few bits of paper and muttering apologies. Scarlet watched him go, feeling oddly disappointed.

"Strange man. At least he didn't ask me what I wanted the power _for_. Kya-ha-ha!" She smiled to herself and returned to her work.

-~-~-~-

A/N: There aren't any continuity errors (at least I hope not) from when Reno was in hospital. He was able to get the file before Elena broke his rib again. Heh, yes, even the comedy bits relate to the story. ^_~

My beta-reader thinks the last two chapters are a little heavy on plot/character and a little light on humour/action. I couldn't think of anyway of changing the emphasis though, without delaying and confusing the story. So you get a tiny fight scene and some mildly sarcastic comments and that's it. Don't abandon the story, it'll get more interesting soon for those of you who like action ^_^;;


	22. Stowaway

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Twenty Two: Stowaway

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Joanna felt fantastic. Fear and excitement surged through her in equal parts, adrenaline was pumping round her body and there was something strangely exhilarating about being crouched in a large wooden crate, with the smell of must and sawdust in her nostrils and the scratchy feel of bits of padding around her ankles.

__

I'm a stowaway. I'm actually stowing away on the same ship the President and the Head of the Peace Preservation Forces are on. Oh Shiva this is exciting! I never dreamed I'd end up doing something like this.

The Shinra Guard had allowed her on board, and had helped her into the crate. He warned her that if she was caught she'd probably be arrested, but that thought hadn't deterred her. 

__

Another country. I'm going to another country. I wonder what it will be like?

She felt like a seven year old again, dreaming of the wonderful things she would do when she grew up. Except she was grown up, and she was actually doing those wonderful things she had dreamed about.

She could hear mumbled conversations through the wood, footsteps and scraping noises as the crew and the guards went about their business. She concentrated, trying to make out what they were saying, but the thick wood muffled the voices.

Curling up tighter in the box, she let the rocking motion of the boat lull her into a semi-conscious state.

-~-~-~-

Elena watched the boat sail off into the distance from her vantage point at the top of the Junon structure. She had witnessed the whole parade, admiring the Guards synchronised marching and expert drill. The further from Tseng she was the less she liked being a Turk – she would much rather have been part of the proceedings than just a spectator. Shaking her head silently she strolled back down the layers of Junon, pausing every now and then to look into a shop or stare out across the ocean.

On one of these frequent stops she stood near a group of Shinra Guards, their conversation drifting back to her. She listened in idly.

"So have we heard anything else about that man in a black cape? Now the parade's over we can get on and find him right?"

"You mean the one everyone thinks is Sephiroth?"

"Yeah! I'd love to get a crack at him, see if he's as good as the stories make out."

"You think you'd do better than Lee? He was one of the best guards. Everyone knew he was gonna be promoted to SOLDIER. And you don't want to know what he looked like when they found him."

"I applied for SOLDIER...." 

"Yeah, and you didn't get in. You think you'd have a chance against the General? He can slay a dragon with a single blow!"

"Fine. But we still have to do something right? He's already killed seventeen guards in the last two days!"

"Sure, sure, the Captain's will tell us what we need to do. Quit worrying, you'll get a taste of combat soon! I dunno... Terrorists, Sephiroth... The old President murdered, Midgar under attack... I expect we'll all be sick of fighting soon enough."

Elena broke away from the rail and raced down to the bar, desperate to repeat the information she had just overheard.

-~-~-~-

"What the hell do you mean Sephiroth is here!?" Reno glared at the blond woman, as she stood panting, her eyes narrowed as she tried to convince him of what she had heard.

"I'm telling you he's here! He's been here for at least two days! He's killed seventeen guards, and he's wearing a black cape and the guards say he can kill a dragon and-"

"Ok! Fine! I believe you! Man... we're damn lucky he didn't try anything on Rufus while he was here."

Elena shut her eyes in exasperation. "He'll be _on the boat!_ It's the only way to cross the sea – he didn't attack the President because if he had the boat wouldn't have left! He's there right now, with President Rufus and Heidegger!"

"What? You don't know that!" Reno glared at Elena.

"It makes sense doesn't it? Why would he stay at Junon?" Elena glared back.

".......... I'm calling Tseng." Rude's deep voice interrupted them suddenly. 

Reno broke his gaze away from Elena, deciding to leave the argument for another time. "Fine. I'll find a chopper – we're gonna have to go after Sephiroth no matter what."

"What about me?" Elena asked.

"You stay there." Reno snapped. "I'm not letting you screw up again!"

Elena opened her mouth to reply, but Reno was already at the door. Pausing briefly he looked back at Rude.

"If Rufus is dead... who becomes President?"

".......Heidegger or Scarlet I think........" Rude pressed the call button on his PHS.

"Aw man... We're gonna be so screwed!" Reno hurried out of the bar.

-~-~-~-

Joanna was woken by the sound of a siren. A loud voice was hammering through the ship, repeating the same message over and over.

"Emergency alert! Reports of a suspicious character found! Those not on detail, search the ship. Report when found! I repeat. Suspicious character found on board! Those not on detail, search the ship. Report when found!" 

She sat up, scared. The siren was drowning out all other noise, and she couldn't hear if the guards and crew were still around. The padding rustled around her as she waited, unable to do anything else.

When the siren cut out and the voice stopped it was worse. Absolute silence rolled around her, and coupled with the blackness she began to feel panic bubble up inside her. 

__

What's going on? Why is it so quiet?

Pushing up on the planks above her, deliberately left loose by the Guard, she peeked out. 

Dead and dying bodies met her frightened eyes, but the door at the front of the room was just swinging closed. Someone had clearly just passed through it. With fear clawing at her stomach she climbed out of the crate and tip-toed across the metal floor, dodging boxes and bodies. When she reached the door she pushed it back open a crack.

The large metal room, with engines and sturdy steel frameworks and ladders, contained another two bodies, one of a Guard and one of a sailor. On the level below her were three strangers, a strong young man with dark clothes and a metal shoulder plate, and two women, one wearing a pink dress and a red jacket and the other wearing a short, tight white top and black mini-skirt. 

They were looking at another dead body, a captain. Joanna wondered if they had killed him and started to draw back. But a sudden voice, a voice of ice, stopped her.

"........After a long sleep..." 

The three figures looked around, clearly looking for the source of the voice. Joanna watched them fearfully.

"...the time......time has....... come....." 

"Look Cloud!" The pink clothed woman clutched onto the arm of the man, and Joanna blinked as a fourth figure rose from where the dead body had been. Clad entirely in black leather, with silver buckles glittering here and there, matching the straight hair that flickered slightly as he moved, he stood with his back to the three. 

"Sephiroth! You're alive!" The blond man sounded confused, angry and scared. Joanna clutched the door frame for support as she heard the name. Sephiroth. The greatest soldier the Planet had seen. 

"........Who are you?" 

"You don't remember me!? I'm Cloud!" 

"Cloud..." 

"Sephiroth! What are you thinking!? What are you doing!?" 

"...the time..... is now......" 

Sephiroth turned, and Joanna sank to her knees. His eyes were slices of light that sucked attention towards them, making everything else seem part of a shadow world. She knelt by the door, shaking uncontrollably, unable to drag herself away from those eyes.

"What are you saying!? Be more..." Cloud started to speak, but before he could finish Sephiroth rose into the air, then suddenly flew forwards, knocking the three to the ground. For a moment Joanna felt her heart stop as he looked forwards, straight at the door, but then he shot upwards, disappearing from sight. As he went he dropped something, something that flashed and then swelled into a huge and grotesque monster. 

Joanna staggered back to her feet, released from Sephiroth's hold. Her eyes scoured the scene before her, as the man and two women drew weapons and closed their hands into fists, whilst the great swaying pulsating thing shadowed over them. She released a shocked sob and took five steps back, tripping over a Guard's body in the process. Finding herself almost sitting on a corpse was the last straw. She scrambled back up, tears flooding her face, and raced from the room, up the stairs and out onto the deck of the ship, where she ran straight into a sailor.

"Here! Who are you?" He grabbed hold of her arm, stopping her from running further. She turned to him, nearly hysterical.

"Let _go_ of me! Let go! There's a mon-monst-" She fell to her knees, clutching herself. "He shouldn't have _left_ me! If he hadn't none of this would have _happened_! Oh god _his eyes_, his ey-eyes!" She cried harder, rocking backwards and forwards.

"Alright lady, calm down calm down" The sailor said, alarmed. "Everything's OK now see? Look, come with me, we'll get you something hot to drink yeah? And you can tell us what happened."

"Sephiroth! He's _here_! On the _boat_! We have to get off! He's ki-ki-killed everyone!"

"What?" The sailor caught her arm tightly and stared at her. "He's here?"

"Dock workers-- We will be docking in Costa del Sol in 5 minutes. Prepare for docking." The calm even voice crackled over the intercom, and the sailor shook his head. 

Pulling Joanna to her feet, supporting her with one arm as he led her into the main part of the ship, he murmured comfort phrases under his breath. He looked worried.

-~-~-~-

"Yes sir." Tseng held the PHS about five inches away from his ear, face expressionless as Heidegger berated him. 

"Yes sir.... Yes...... We are working on capturing both him and the terrorists now sir."

He winced slightly as the voice raised in volume and moved the PHS further away. "Yes sir, my apologies... No, we shouldn't have let you get in that much danger... but sir, the Junon Guards had been aware of Sephiroth's presence in Junon for at least two days. I don't see that it's our fault that- yes sir."

He closed the PHS, and let out an exasperated sigh. _Okay Reeve. This spy of yours better live up to its promise._

-~-~-~-

Reno, Rude and Elena landed at Costa del Sol. Rufus and Heidegger had already flown on, leaving behind a division of Guards, and giving the Turks strict orders to meet with the Captain before going anywhere else.

It was hot, the sun boiling down on them. Rude remained stoic, putting up with the heat as he marched towards the Shinra building on the dock of Costa del Sol. Elena unzipped her blazer, and undid her sleeve buttons, wondering how the taller older Turk coped with the heat and hoping the Captain wouldn't think too badly of her. Reno simply stripped off both his blazer and shirt, having little concern with making a good impression on the Captain. 

They entered the building, the short walk in the sun leaving both Reno and Elena panting and thirsty. Rude seemed unaffected by the heat, and opened the door that led into the Captain's office, it clattering slightly as it met the wall.

Joanna looked up at the sound, face white and streaked with tears. Rude stood in the doorway, staring at the woman, words deserting him completely.

-~-~-~-

A/N: I want to thank everyone who has reviewed this story ^_^ Getting positive reviews really encourages me. I especially want to thank the people who review it on a regular basis, proving that at least some people like it enough to keep coming back! You guys rock! 


	23. Star Light, Star Bright

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Twenty Three: Star Light, Star Bright

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Reeve studied the defence slot, set into the armour and currently spilling coppery wires everywhere. The intricate circuits created a medley of information in his mind, and he was on the verge of recreating Scarlet's modifications.

The door behind him opened, thumping into the wall and breaking his concentration. His visualisation vanished, leaving him staring at the mess of wires with frustration.

"Reeve." Tseng spoke from behind him "I need your help."

His frustration turned immediately into apprehension. When a Turk requested help it could mean anything.

"What with?"

"Scarlet tells me you've built a robotic spy. A cat."

"Yes." Reeve shifted uncomfortably on his seat. "It's at the Gold Saucer."

"So she said. We have a problem, Avalanche hasn't been captured yet, they succeeded in passing through Junon without being noticed. We're rapidly losing track of them – they keep turning up in unexpected places. We still don't know what their final destination is. So we need your cat to join up with them at Gold Saucer."

"You want Cait to join with Avalanche?"

"As a spy, yes."

"Why would they want a fortune telling cat to join with them?"

Tseng shrugged. "Make them want it."

"But – "

"Reeve, you don't have a choice. I need to know what they're up to and where they're going. Period."

Reeve looked down at the circuits spilled across his desk. He didn't want to be caught up in intrigue and double dealing but he wanted even less to be on the wrong side of the Turks. He nodded slowly.

"Good. Let me know when you've succeeded." Tseng left the room, shutting the door behind him with a click.

"I will...." Reeve said to the air. Pushing the chair back he scooped the defence slot, lightening materia, and collection of circuitry into a drawer and found the Cait Sith control device.

-~-~-~-

"This is Joanna Gramercy." The Captain spoke smartly, acutely conscious of the threatening expression on the face of the Turk who had just entered. "She witnessed both Sephiroth and the terrorist group Avalanche aboard the Junon vessel."

Reno pushed his way round Rude, wondering why his friend had stopped in the doorway. Upon seeing the white faced woman he understood and a glint came into his eyes.

"I think we've already met." 

"You're the man from the bar." Joanna said, blankly.

The Captain looked from Joanna to the red-haired Turk and tried to work out why the temperature in the room had dropped drastically.

"Er... well I was told you'd want to talk with her. About Sephiroth. And Avalanche." He said, feeling unsure.

"Yeah. We do." Reno glanced at the Captain. "We talk better without an audience."

The Captain saluted and glanced towards the door where the large Turk was still stood, glowering. "Er..."

"Rude! Shift yourself!" Reno snapped at his partner.

Rude moved out of the doorway, eyes still fixed on Joanna. The initial shock had died, he understood what must have happened, and he resolved to simply get the information from her and leave. He didn't want a scene.

Elena scurried through the now open doorway and looked round the room, her glance stopping on Joanna and her eyes widening.

"Rude! It's your ex!"

"Whose _she_?" Joanna shrieked, instantly suspecting the worst.

"How the hell did you know that Elena?" Reno turned to the blonde in suprise.

"........" Rude also turned and looked at Elena.

"Um... ah... " Elena turned pink, a nervous smile spreading across her face.

-~-~-~-

The five Shinra Guards and the pilot stood in the dark office, one by the door listening intently and the others grouped round a table, attention focused on the pilot who spoke in a whisper.

"So it's decided then?"

The four Guards round the table nodded, blank masks covering their expressions.

The pilot took a deep breath. "It will be difficult – you know that. If anyone wants to leave we won't hold it against you, as long as you promise not to report what we're doing."

The Guards stood still, waiting to see if any of their comrades would leave. When none did the Guard to the far right of the group spoke, in a deep voice, hollow with sorrow.

"Lucy and the kids 'd be hanging over me forever if I didn't. They need to be revenged." 

The other Guards nodded silent agreement, all coping with their own losses of friends and family, killed in the dropping of the sector seven plate.

"We'll get revenge." The pilot spoke harshly. "We'll get revenge on the one who did this and then we'll join Avalanche and get rid of Shinra for once and for all. What they did was .... was .... "

"Wrong." The first Guard spoke again, voice tight and controlled. "How are we going to kill him?"

-~-~-~-

"You eavesdropped on Rude and Joanna?" Reno said furiously. "You listened in on my best friend's _private conversation_? Do you have any idea what I'm going to do to you for that?"

"I didn't do it on purpose" Elena said, upset. "I was just passing by at the time and – "

"And you thought it sounded interesting! So you decided to hang around and listen! You goddamn sneak!"

"I'm not!" Elena turned to Rude, desperate for some sign of friendship or support. "I didn't mean to listen in!"

"........." Rude looked at her expressionless. Elena stared at him for a second, and then realised he had shut her out, that he did blame her.

Rude's silence hurt her more than Reno's accusations. She recalled how he had helped her after Reno had insulted her whilst in hospital and shame and misery flooded through her. She clenched her jaw, determined not to cry, and turned back to Reno.

"If they hadn't wanted to be overheard maybe they shouldn't have had a shouted argument in a public building!" With that she spun on her heel and walked out of the room.

Reno watched her leave, glad that Rude would now be on his side. He'd drive her to resign yet. 

".....Reno..... Do you think the terrorists are in Costa del Sol now?" Rude asked, wanting to change the subject.

Reno thought for a moment and then responded in the negative. "Nah. If you're a terrorist and you've just hitched a ride on the President's boat what do you when you get off the other side? You go into hiding right? You don't wander down to the beach or compare house prices that's for sure. They're probably on their way to North Corel right now."

Rude nodded. "....ok."

-~-~-~-

Elena wandered along the beach, struggling to hold back tears, watching the swimmers splashing each other whilst the tourists lay spread out on beach towels and deckchairs.

"Turk?" The voice, quiet and sibilant, spoke from one of the deckchairs. She looked over at it and saw a thin man in a lab coat, lank dark hair hanging loosely over his pallid face before being scraped into a ponytail. His eyes were hidden by thick lenses that caught the bright sunlight and flashed it back at her.

"Um..." She remembered what Tseng had told her about not advertising the fact she was a Turk. She stared at the man, trying to think of a response.

"How is Denli doing?" The man laughed, as though what he had said was a joke. Elena pulled back a few steps, the choked throaty laugh somehow scaring her.

"He's fine. Why?"

The glasses flashed again, reflecting her own image. "He was a most interesting subject... in a number of ways. Ask him how his mother is won't you?" He laughed again.

"Umm... Ok...." Elena started walking backwards, away from this strange man. 

He gave a thin-lipped smile, watching her leave. She felt strangely as though he was studying her, as though she was an insect under a microscope. Hastily she sped down the beach, away from his gaze.

-~-~-~-

Night fell, releasing Costa del Sol from the sticky heat and burning light that normally plagued it. There were no clouds, and the stars shone cold and silvery against the dark sky. The moon bathed the streets in a bleached white light that created strange shadows and stranger highlights. The streets emptied. On the beach someone lit a bonfire and drank beer, whilst the bar lost it's friendly tourist crowd and gained the night time clientele of drinkers who wished only to be left in silence to drown their sorrows in strong spirits. 

Reno found himself at a loss. After the questioning the Captain had returned and taken Joanna, intending to return her to Midgar along with some Guards. Rude had disappeared shortly after, to Reno's dismay. Elena had turned up briefly to tell him she was sleeping on the beach, and then left, leaving him alone to either wander the empty streets or return to an empty room. 

He finally opted for the latter, pausing only briefly at the bar. Silent drinkers depressed him, especially when he was alone.

Back at the Inn he leaned on the window sill, studying the sky. It was a clear night, though not cold. Costa del Sol was never cold.

He missed Midgar acutely, where the night time was little different to the day. He missed the noise and bustle and night life. Silence left him with nothing but his own thoughts, and his thoughts had been confused and worrying lately. Shadows played at his mind, nebulous emotions filled him, emotions he made no pretence to understand.

Into his head came an image of the file he had taken from Hojo's lab. It was still nestled securely in his luggage, unopened. His courage had failed him before, but the shadows were insistent and the silence unyielding. Without really thinking about it he crossed the room and picked up his bag, fumbling with the zip and spilling its contents out across the floor. The file slid out into his hand, he dropped the bag and returned to the window with it, deriving some comfort from the balmy air and watchful stars.

Again he lit a cigarette, the smoke creating soft gentle patterns about the room. Again he slid his fingers under the cover, fear and anticipation trilling through him. This time though, instead of stopping there and returning the file to his bag he shut his eyes and pulled the thick cardboard front up, prepared for whatever bizarre truth he would find nestled within. 

The file was empty.

-~-~-~-

A/N: Plot! Plot! Plot! Is getting rather tangled ^_^ I hope you're following it all. I don't think it's that confusing – but then I wrote it. It all comes together at the end. I've actually written the last chapter, more or less, so now I know exactly where it's headed. 

For those of you who dislike Joanna – stay put. She's got her part to play in all this. 


	24. Do You Ever Feel Guilty?

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Twenty Four: Do You Ever Feel Guilty?

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

"This place sucks." Reno glowered at Rude, who was sat on the bar stool, a shot of vodka in one hand and Midgar's one and only newspaper in the other, known simply as "The Paper". It was produced by Shinra, unsurprisingly.

"........" Rude scanned the headlines. He didn't need to read the news since he knew about it long before the paper did, usually the more factual version, but he liked the human interest stories.

"Why do you even bother reading that thing? It practically qualifies as fiction!"

"........"

"Yeah, whatever." Reno slumped down on the bar stool. "Costa del Sol sucks. Why's it so damn hot all the time?"

"......because there's a natural current of warm water flowing past the coastline...." Rude turned the page and scanned the Chocobo racing results.

"I wish Tseng would hurry up and tell us what to do. I hate this sitting around waiting for something to happen. Avalanche could be anywhere by now!"

"......." Rude considered the next big race. The infamous 'Joe' was racing, which meant the winner was pretty much a given. But in reflection of that the odds were so low it wasn't worth bothering.

"Hey Rude."

"...." 

"Do you ever feel guilty?"

".....?" Rude looked up from The Paper and studied his companion. Reno was looking down at his drink, eyes half closed as though in thought. 

"...Guilty?" Rude said, playing for time.

"Yeah... for, y'know, stuff."

Rude was silent, though his full attention was now on Reno. 

"I didn't ever at all." Reno said, more to himself. "But after I was in hospital I just kinda... started thinking. Not about anything in particular, more, like, feeling something. Something wrong."

".........What?"

"I dunno. But I thought maybe it had something to do with the Mako so I took a file from Hojo's lab."

Rude was expressionless, not showing his suprise. Hojo was not a man you crossed, unless you wanted to end up with more limbs than you started with.

"But it was empty. Nothing at all, not even the standard files. And I don't remember stuff."

"....like what?"

"Anything much from before I was a Turk. It's like my life started there, getting chased round the old office by you."

".........."

"And I never even cared, because working for Shinra's ok and Midgar felt right, on the top plate anyway, but I always felt weird going down to the bottom because I really hate the idea of being cut off from the sky and I know that's kinda strange and I always wondered if maybe that was something to do with living there, though I didn't wonder that much because I didn't care but _now_ I wonder because something happened when I was in hospital and I reckon it was Hojo and what if I go crazy?"

Reno's voice had altered slightly as he spoke, the slums accent becoming more distinctive and the continuos phrasing reminding Rude acutely of the time 5 years ago when he was sitting in Tifa's bar, listening to the skinny redhead ramble about employment problems. Rude stared at the far wall of the bar, ignoring the brightly coloured crowd as they laughed and spoke about them. 

"......Reno......"

"What if I lived in sector seven? That would be ironic don'tcha think?" Reno glared into his drink, wishing he could get drunker, faster.

"..........."

"I killed Odin knows how many people Rude and I didn't care! I – "

Elena walked into the bar, flushing at the hostile look Reno gave her the second she entered. Rude ignored her.

"Tseng's in a board meeting." She said, flustered. "When he's done he's going to call us."

"Fine." Reno waited for her to leave, his impatience plain. Elena frowned and decided she wasn't going to be cowed. Deliberately ignoring his look she pulled up a barstool and sat down.

"Go. Away." Reno decided to stop any pretence of subtlety. 

"I have as much right to be here as you." She flashed back angrily.

"Oh for... You don't even drink!"

"Bartender? I'll have a spring water please." Elena addressed herself to the large unkempt man behind the bar.

"It's a _bar_, Elena! You don't buy water at a bar!"

"I do." She replied "Alcohol will only kill you." 

"I hate you so goddamn much." Reno growled.

"The feeling's mutual." She snapped back.

Rude stood up and left, the argument annoying him. Neither of the two remaining Turks were willing to admit defeat and be the first to leave. Elena sipped aggressively on her water and Reno swallowed his whiskey, fingers clenched with the effort of not throttling the blonde.

"You're a hopeless Turk you know." Reno snarled into his drink, fury at her untimely interruption boiling through him.

"Tseng doesn't think so, or he wouldn't have hired me." She replied as calmly as she could.

"What would he know? You're useless – a silly bitch with no skills."

"I have skills"

"Oh yeah, like what? What could you have possibly learnt from your cushy upper-plate spoilt brat upbringing to help you as a Turk?"

"I can shoot and fight as well as you." She snapped, her calmness slipping.

"No you can't – and there's more to this job than just fighting anyway!"

"I can... I can hack! How do you think I found out about you guys in the first place? I know everything about the Turks and everything about _you_, because I – "

"What do you know about me?" Reno demanded, suddenly turning to face her, eyes narrowed and flashing green in the dim bar light.

"Everything, like I said!" She snapped.

"Prove it."

"You were brought up in sector five slums." Elena started reeling off the information, eyes locked with his. "You dropped out of school and started working in the sector three Food Market, now closed. You lived with your mother and three siblings. You were recruited by Rude when you were 17, and almost immediately underwent a scientific experiment that erased your conscience, as well as giving – "

He grabbed her arm, so hard she nearly cried out. 

"Where did you find this?" His voice was low and his eyes sharp, boring into her. She quavered under his gaze, shocked at the sudden change.

"From.. from the high executive files."

He studied her, taking in every detail, every nuance of her expression and body. She was telling the truth, he could tell. But he didn't want to believe it. His shock wavered between the confirmation of him being one of Hojo's subjects, and the idea that Elena, the rookie he had been mocking constantly, had been the one to find the information. But he was an experienced Turk and had slipped automatically into his professional role, face not showing anything of his churning thoughts.

"Outside. Now."

-~-~-~-

Rufus considered the Shinra board room to be symbolic of everything that was wrong with his Father's reign. It represented consensus, a democratic discussion of ideas. It suggested that he, the President of Shinra, should have to listen and consider his underlings most stupid and ill-thought out plans. 

For example, already in this meeting Palmer had broken his usual rule of making inane noises to suddenly announce he wanted the Space Program to be resumed. Rufus had thought wistfully of the execution chamber and had patiently explained that not only was Sephiroth running around causing havoc and Avalanche still free as a bird spreading ideas of revolution, but that the current topic was finding the Promised Land. 

Then Reeve, in that I'm-only-trying-to-help-voice he used so much, had told him that whilst he spent his time chasing after the Promised Land and fighting terrorists Mako extraction was rapidly becoming harder and harder. He had observed that at the current rate of use all Mako would disappear in 30 years. Rufus had cursed his Father then, wasteful idiot that he had been. Why should anyone bar Shinra get any power? The below-plate citizens certainly didn't contribute anything in return.

Then Heidegger had told him that he had not managed to find Avalanche, Sephiroth or Hojo. He had no excuse, simply mumbling about lack of funds. Lack of funds! Rufus had looked at the budget plan his Father had created and seen that the Peace Preservation department was receiving nearly 78% of Shinra resources. And what did they have to show for it? Abject failure and a stupid laugh.

And now Scarlet was standing up, a glint in her dark eyes.

"Yes Scarlet?"

"President Rufus" She began sweetly "We appear to have some problems."

__

No kidding, he thought angrily. He wished he could just sack the lot of them, but they still had control of the army, and could cause trouble if he did.

"I have been doing some experimenting recently." Her gaze flicked briefly to Reeve and then back to him. "And I believe I can create something capable of taking on Sephiroth himself." She paused and licked her lips. "It would easily take care of the other problems we have."

Tseng, stood silently to one edge of the room, caught the pause and the euphemism. _She's going to use it against you Rufus. She thinks you're the biggest problem with Shinra_, he thought.

"Unauthorised experimentation?" Rufus frowned. He didn't trust Scarlet, she consistently insisted on doing her own thing, operating just barely within the rules.

"Reeve authorised me." She lied glibly. "I was trying to improve on the materia manufacture process. You must admit the best materia is still that which is found 'wild'. Kya-ha-ha! It would be most useful if we could make summon materia for example. Or materia that was already mastered."

"Hmmm." Rufus said.

"I discovered an interesting side-effect. If there is a large amount of Mako energy and it goes through the compression process in open air as opposed to underground, rather than becoming a more powerful materia it forms... I've used the term 'giant materia' but it is hardly that. Kya-ha-ha! It looks like large materia but the properties of it are completely different." She was becoming more animated as she discussed her favourite subject. "Unfortunately the manufacture process left it too brittle for practical use but it leads me to believe –"

"Cut it short." Rufus said flatly, the talk of compression and materia properties doing little except confuse him.

"Kya-ha-ha-ha! I'll simplify it for you then." She smiled at Rufus, red nails drumming on the table surface. "I believe that some of the Mako reactors will have been creating giant materia for years. I request permission to take Tseng and look for them, so that we may utilise them in our battle against the enemy."

__

Again with the euphemism, Tseng thought, frowning. _I wonder what use these 'giant materia' have._

"Permission granted." Rufus said, pleased to be getting rid of her so easily. If he was lucky maybe she would get eaten by a monster. "Tseng you will accompany Scarlet to wherever she needs to go. Meeting dismissed."

Chairs scraped back as the executives stood and stretched, picking up their papers and shuffling from the room. Tseng followed Scarlet out, guessing that the reason she wanted him along was not so much for bodyguard purposes but to keep him from saying anything about her earlier talk of treachery. 

As he left however Reeve grabbed hold of his shoulder.

"Cait has joined them." He said in an undertone.

Tseng turned back, surveying the now empty board room.

"Good. Where are they?"

"They're in the desert prison." Reeve stared at the far wall, not meeting Tseng's eyes. "It's... it's confused. The Gold Saucer created a lot of static and now they're... Barret's... It's confused."

"Just tell me what you've found out." Tseng said, irritated.

"Scarlet shot Barret's hand off." Reeve blurted, unable to stop himself. He had always kept himself away from the Shinra army, not really thinking about combat or the military aspect of Shinra's expansion. Barret's story had created a brutal image in his head, one he couldn't seem to shake and that left him with a strange feeling in his gut every time he looked at Scarlet.

"Mm huh. What are they planning next?" Tseng had long since lost the ability to be shocked by violence. He knew exactly how cruel the human creature could be.

"To escape. By winning a chocobo race I think. It seems to be the only way out..." Reeve hesitated.

"I guess they'll head south after that, in order to go round the mountain range. Which means they'll probably stop off at Gongaga." Tseng considered for a moment. "There's a reactor at Gongaga, yes?"

"There's the remains of one." Reeve said, plunging into even more gloom. "It blew up, and was never rebuilt."

"Still, maybe I can convince Scarlet to stop off there first. After picking up the rest of the Turks." Tseng nodded, pleased with this idea. "Very good, thank you Reeve. Please keep me up to date on their movements."

"Yes, ok." Reeve said sadly, reflecting on the unfairness of Barret's life and Scarlet's cruelty. He couldn't understand how she could have shot at him ... them ... when they had done nothing wrong.

__

Maybe I should ask her. When she comes back. I should get both sides of the story. I'm sure there must be a reason why she would... maim somebody like that. She did say she was against unnecessary murder after all. Reeve's thoughts were broken by the click of the board room door. Tseng had left, and he was alone.

He looked round him. The flat wooden table still had a few forgotten pieces of paper scattered across it, the high back chairs had been left in disarray, and that strange smell no one had ever been able to eradicate hung in the air. 

It represented, he thought, a dictatorship. The raised chair at the far end for the ruler, the lower level for his yes men, not daring to contradict him, their only function to make sure his every whim was carried out, regardless of expense or harm. He wondered if Rufus cared about the Mako running out. President Shin-Ra hadn't, he knew he would be dead by the time it disappeared. But Rufus should care. Rufus should do something about it. 

Reeve sighed. He knew that Rufus would put his faith in the Promised Land. A place of abundant Mako... 

__

The Planet was_ the Promised Land. It was fertile. The Mako flowed willingly. But we raped it, and now it's a desert. So we make up stories of another Promised Land, another Planet we can defile so that we don't have to cut down on our greed or excess. But... _Reeve shook his head. These thoughts were bordering on treachery. Gathering up his own papers he hurried from the room, hoping the coffee shop across the road would still be open.

-~-~-~-

A/N: This chapter has just two scenes and still manages to be longer than most of the others. I had no idea they would take up so much space, I was hoping to get the Gongaga scene done in this chapter. But I figured this was long enough ^.^;; Elena has a habit of putting her foot in it, ne?

Next up: Gongaga fight, or "so who do you like?" An action/humour chapter. Finally. ^_^;;


	25. Enjoy Your Walk

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Twenty Five: Enjoy Your Walk

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Scarlet sat in the front seat of the helicopter, near the pilot, carefully repainting her long nails. Even with the rocking motion caused by air turbulence she was able to keep the surface sheer and smooth.

Seemingly absorbed in her task, she was nether the less fully aware of both the pilot's movements, and the conversation coming from the back.

"Report please Reno".

"Um yeah. Well, we met up at Junon..." Her mind drifted as Reno reported. She already knew the Turks had found no trace of Avalanche or Sephiroth. "... And then Joanna Gramercy was taken back to Midgar by a division of Shinra guards, where she'll be kept until she's put on trial for being a stowaway." He paused, and then added "Sir" as an afterthought.

"Very good. Anything to add Rude?"

Silence. Which meant Rude was 'talking'. Both Tseng and Reno seemed to pick out huge amounts of information from Rude's blank silences. Scarlet blew gently on her right hand to dry the polish.

"Elena?"

"No sir." The girl sounded doleful.

"Good. In brief we're heading to Gongaga, where I have received information Avalanche are headed. Your job is to kill them. Quickly. Any questions?"

"Nope" Reno again. Silence from the other two. Tseng joined Scarlet at the front, standing behind her until she got annoyed and gestured at the seat beside her. Tseng sat reluctantly.

They continued in silence, until Scarlet became aware of the stifled noises from the back of the helicopter.

"Shut up Reno! He'll hear you!" Elena hissed, voice mingled rage and horror.

Reno sniggered. "He knows honey, he found your photo album."

"What!?"

"Shush! You want them back here?" Reno laughed again. "Elena and Tseng, sitting in a tree, K-I – "

"Stop it!" The sound of a thump, a scuffle, and then Elena yelped in pain. "Ow!"

"Don't hit me next time 'k? Where was I..."

"Let go! Ow! You're hurting me you jerk!"

Scarlet turned her eyes to Tseng, one blond eyebrow raised in a questioning expression. Tseng started to stand up, but she indicated for him to sit back down again.

"Bet you wouldn't mind if Tseng did, say, this – " 

Elena gave a sudden scream. "Jerk! Don't you dare!"

"Shut up or they'll hear! Don't tell me a good little Turk like you can't cope with a little unwanted attention..."

Scarlet addressed herself to the pilot. "Set the chopper down." The pilot glanced at her, nodded, and started circling, looking for a square of flat land. Scarlet stood and moved into the back. 

Slap!

Reno's turn to give a sudden yell of suprise and pain. Tseng restrained a smile as he heard the first slap followed up by three others, all equally as hard. The pilot landed the helicopter expertly.

"Great Shiva Scarlet! What was that for?" Reno complained.

".......We've landed....." Rude rumbled, speaking for the first time on the trip.

"We're at Gongaga already?" Reno sounded confused.

"Hope you enjoy your walk Reno! Kya-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Scarlet shrieked with laughter, clearly enjoying the expression on Reno's face. 

"What!? Why? What'd I do!?"

"Never question a superior officer! Now out you get. Kya-ha-ha-ha!"

"........Whatever. Rude, you're coming too!"

-~-~-~-

The monsters that dotted the plains and woods between Gold Saucer and Gongaga were not having a good week. First a tall, black clad, silver haired man had passed through, making mincemeat out of anything that dared attack him.

He had been followed by a steady stream of strange figures in black cloaks, all of whom were so single minded they barely even registered the monsters presence, walking straight past the scariest without even a sigh. It did tend to damage the self-esteem when every person you tried to kill treated you as little less annoying than a fly.

Then a raging red-head and a bald man wearing blue suits had come past, the red-head going out of his way to find things to blow up. Monsters who tried to attack found themselves spread in sparking pieces about the landscape.

And now, desperate for prey, the monsters tried attacking a peculiar looking vehicle, only to discover it contained several warriors who performed victory dances every time they pounded some poor mutant into dust.

No, the monsters really weren't having a good week.

-~-~-~-

Reno marched angrily down the road that curved round Gongaga. When they had reached the intersection that led into the main city he stopped. Rude, trailing him patiently, also stopped.

"We're here" Reno announced.

"..........." Rude decided against observing that was patently obvious.

Reno tapped his foot for a few moments, and then, solely to annoy Rude and spread his bad mood around, asked in a sing-song voice.

"Hey, Rude. Who do you like?" 

Rude turned away. Reno scowled. He wasn't going to let his silent friend get away with not answering this time.

"What are you getting so embarrassed about? Come on. Who do you like?" 

"...........Tifa." 

The unexpected confession stopped Reno cold for a minute. He hadn't wanted Rude to admit to having anything resembling affection for anyone. The whole point of Rude, he had long ago decided, was to be completely silent and unchanging so that Reno could use him as an emotional sponge. 

"Hmmmm....... That's a tough one." 

Unable to think of anything else to add to that, he took refuge in sarcasm against his favourite target.

"But, poor Elena. She.... you......" 

"No, she likes Tseng." Rude said patiently, who had long since given up on understanding the meta-messages Reno buried below his every other sentence.

"I never knew that!" Reno said with mock suprise. Then more seriously he added. "But Tseng likes that Ancient..." 

He considered the complexities of this arrangement for a moment, wondering at the stupidity of love. It appeared to serve no purpose whatsoever except make people's lives difficult. 

Rude sighed, and was about to ask him the obvious return question when he heard a sudden yell.

"They're here! They're really here!" 

Looking up, Reno and Rude saw Elena come tearing up to them. Behind her, standing in a row across the pathway, stood three figures.

On the right stood Tifa, looking at Rude with an expression of blank shock. With her firm lithe muscles, long legs, straight dark hair falling in clumps that framed her face and waterfalled down her back, she was strikingly beautiful. Rude cringed.

In the centre, regarding the Turks with a sardonic expression, stood Cloud. His spiky blond hair and pale skin glowed in the bright sunshine, and he held his massive sword with an easy grace that belied the weight of the weapon. The blade glittered. Reno frowned.

On the left, head cocked on one side and a slight smile curving her mouth, stood the Ancient, Aeris. Soft brown hair stuck up at a haphazard angle from her forehead and fell in thick strands past rosy cheeks. Three thin sheets of silver hung from a tie around her slender neck, and she threw her wooden staff from hand to hand. Elena smiled tentatively and then remembered she was the enemy and blushed.

"Hmm... Then it's time..." Reno brandished his own weapon, the electro-mag rod giving off eager sparks. "Rude... Don't go easy on them even though they're girls." 

Cloud ignored the implied insult.

"...Don't worry, I'll do my job." Rude wondered if the warning was a result of his confession. He was glad of the sunglasses that covered his eyes and hid his embarrassment at seeing Tifa. He wondered how much of the conversation she had overheard.

"Then, we're counting on you. I'll report to Tseng!" Elena said smartly, more than glad to escape the fight. She didn't think she could attack people she didn't even know.

Reno waited for her to leave, and then addressed himself to Cloud.

"It's been a while." He paused, and then added "Payback time for what you did in Sector 7." 

"Out of our way" Cloud spoke evenly.

"I don't like being taken for a fool." Reno retorted.

"That's as far as you go." Rude added.

Cloud shrugged, and attacked, swinging the sword in an upstroke that caught Rude directly in the chest. The weight caused nearly as much damage as the edge, it was like being clubbed and cut in one blow. Rude grunted and retaliated by casting fire 2. The flames spiralled across the path and crashed into the spiky haired man, furious heat blazing around him.

He smiled, and held up his index finger. The Fire Ring gleamed.

Tifa shot past in a whirlwind of punching fists and kicking feet and slammed into Reno. Finishing by punching him in the jaw and then in the stomach she skipped back to her place, making way for Aeris to step forward, stick unsupported in the air in front of her, eyes wide and innocent and sparkling. 

The air turned cold, and both Turks breath became visible, smoky clouds curling in the sudden wind. Ice splinters formed along the ground and Reno found his metal electro-mag rod suddenly freezing in his hand.

The three figures in front of them vanished in a blaze of blue and white light. Sparkles formed ice shards formed jagged spears of frozen water, light gleaming off a thousand surfaces. In the centre of the ice a smoky figure formed, solidified, became a woman with taut blue skin and glittering eyes. She loomed over the two stunned Turks, nearly seven times taller than a human. 

__

Great Shiva it's Shiva! Reno could feel his very blood turning to ice under that diamond hard, pitiless gaze. 

She pulled back one graceful arm, Her back arched and then She swept forward, a blaze of air and magic streaming from Her outstretched hand and solidifying into a great glacier around the two men. For a second trapped by the hard sharp cold block, Reno nearly panicked, and then it shattered into a million fragments of razor sharp edges, that spiralled in furious patterns around them, slicing into flesh and bone.

Then She was gone, and the three terrorists were back, the Ancient smiling perkily. Reno shook his head. _I didn't know they had summons dammit!_

Recovering himself, he sent Neo-Turk light toward the pink-dressed girl. She yelped as the electricity struck, snakes of lightning shooting around her and burying into her body.

And then Cloud was on him, sword nearly throwing him backwards as he slammed the edge into his chest. The edge of the sword burned deep, and Reno felt blood start to flow.

Green light flickered round him as Rude cast cure. The wound across his chest healed, the blood dissolving into the air. Reno mentally thanked his friend. This battle was turning out be harder than anticipated.

Tifa lent forward and the glow of magic surrounded her before a sudden crackle of ice snapped around Rude. Rude said nothing, but instead of attacking her in return he directed his attack on Cloud, punching each fist in turn into the mans face. Cloud staggered a couple of steps back, and then slid one foot back and slashed his sword three times across Rude, criss-crossing the sweep of the blade in swift economical movements. Reno dived forward and caught the end of his rod on the blade, before a fourth cut could be made, succeeding in sending a jolt of energy down the metal and into the terrorist.

In quick succession Tifa too dived forward, catching her left foot into a hook that slammed into Reno's side. He slid sideways, the rod jerking from the blade and breaking the current. On the other side of Cloud the Ancient was casting cure, and green lights shone briefly around each figure.

Rude caught hold of the end of the Ancient's staff as she went to reclaim it, using it's leverage to send her flying sideways into Cloud, who steadied her, and then sent a fiery stream towards Reno. 

Cursing as he was caught by the flames, Reno dodged Tifa's follow up blow and used his rod to send her crashing backwards. She slid on the path and then somersaulted back to her feet, landing him with three kicks in quick succession. Reno cast his spell of lightning towards her, and she shielded herself as best she could with her arms and then brought her knee up into his stomach and her elbow into his face.

Reno yelped, and caught hold of her arm, twisting it backwards away from him and slamming his left fist into her face and stomach. Rude cast fire at the two battling figures, hoping it wouldn't hit anybody, and then brought his arm up in defence of Cloud's next attack, the metal meeting flesh with searing pain for Rude.

Reno, defending himself against Tifa's enraged blows, thought, _for Odin's sake... this is insane! They're way more powerful than last time... Time to cut my losses I think. The hell with Tseng, if he wants them so bad he can kill 'em himself!_

Twisting suddenly away from the battle Reno took to his heels, vanishing in seconds.

Rude grunted as he absorbed yet another blow from the blonde haired warrior. Realising his partner had disappeared he landed a last few blows that sent Cloud reeling back and then he too turned on his heel and ran for it.

The three Avalanche members blinked in confusion as they suddenly realised their opponents had gone, and Aeris nearly fell over as she attempted to land a blow on someone who wasn't there.

Elena, watching from the bushes and vegetation nearby, scratched her head.

"Well Reno... that wasn't very impressive." She muttered.

-~-~-~-

A/N: Keep going!

__


	26. Like Frightened Chocobo's

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Twenty Six: Like Frightened Chocobo's

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

The pilot landed the helicopter for the third time on his journey, this time by the ruined reactor at Gongaga. Tseng followed Scarlet out and scanned the area swiftly. The cracked and broken ground was bare of any vegetation, even after the three years since the reactor had exploded grass and flowers refused to grow near it. The reactor itself was a rusty heap of spiked metal debris.

Scarlet walked up to the rubble of the reactor, and started looking over it. Tseng waited, unsure of what the 'huge materia' looked like.

".....Hmph! This isn't any good either. You only get junky materia from junky reactors." Scarlet came away from the rubble, wiping her hands clean on the skirt of her dress. "This reactor's a failure. What I'm looking for is big, large, huge materia. You seen any?" She was frowning, clearly already annoyed with having to search through the many reactors that dotted the planet.

"No, I haven't seen it." Tseng paused, studying her mood and then added. "I'll get on it right away." 

"Please. We could make the ultimate weapon if we only had some." Scarlet repeated her point from the board meeting, and again failed to say who she was going to use it against. She was waiting for his reaction with more attention that she would normally, her head half on one side. 

"I just can't wait." Tseng was no fool, he knew exactly what she was _really_ asking, and for the moment he would make it seem as though he was prepared to go along with her plan.

"With Hojo gone, the Weapon Development's been getting a bigger budget." Scarlet said, tapping her nails against her cheek. 

"I envy them." 

"But, even if we make the perfect weapon, could that stupid Heidegger ever use it?" She smiled at him, her face revealing nothing.

"....." Tseng studied her. Could she be planning to dispose of Heidegger as well? Or was this a test to see if he was loyal to his boss and thus to the army? The silence lengthened.

"Oh... sorry! I forgot Heidegger was your boss! Kya-ha-ha-ha!" Scarlet laughed, giving Tseng little help in deciding which answer to give. He took a leaf from Rude's book and remained silent.

"....." 

"Let's go!" Scarlet said sharply, a little annoyed she hadn't succeeded in drawing an answer from the Turk leader. She wanted the assassins on her side if it did come to a full-scale war between her and Rufus.

-~-~-~-

Elena waited for Rude and Reno or Tseng and Scarlet to return to the plain near Gongaga. When the former pair came into sight she smiled silently to herself. 

"Is Tseng here yet?" Reno said impatiently, looking round the empty plain.

"Not yet. He and Scarlet went to look at the reactor," Elena continued to smile brightly, and Reno gave her a suspicious look. Before he could question her, the helicopter swept past overhead, twisting round and settling to the ground nearby. Tseng jumped out, and gave a cursory glance towards the two male Turks.

"Did you get them?" he asked.

Reno looked angry. "The bastards sprang a smoke grenade on us and ran away!"

"....." Rude looked at the ground. Behind them, Elena's smile widened.

"They escaped?" Tseng frowned.

"Yeah, they fled like chocobo's! Cowards!" Reno was clearly outraged.

"Too late to recover the situation now," Tseng said with a sigh. "I do have a back-up plan thankfully. Get in, we're returning to Midgar."

"Yes sir," Reno replied smartly. Tseng nodded and climbed back into the helicopter. Reno started after him but Elena grabbed hold of his sleeve, yanking him back. He turned, ready to yell at her but she got in first.

"Are you sure about the smoke grenade Reno? Only from where I was standing it looked rather like it was _you_ who took to your heels. If you don't mind me saying so," her eyes were wide and innocent, but her grin was wide enough to nearly split her face in two.

"Uh..." Reno floundered for a moment. "You were watching?"

"I got back from reporting to Tseng in time to see the end of the battle," she said cheerfully. "I was going to help, but I got there just in time to see you run away. Like a scared little chocobo."

"..... sort it out later ...." Rude walked away from the two, and climbed onto the helicopter. Elena nodded. 

"Yes... we'll sort this out later," she said. Then, whistling cheerfully to herself, she strolled over to the helicopter and scrambled inside. Reno considered everything for a second, swore profoundly and hurried after them.

-~-~-~-

The Shinra Guard was outside the equipment store and scanning a clipboard irritably. Supplies of materia had been deteriorating recently, and potions, ethers, tents and accessories were all being used too much too often. He swung his keys around his finger, frowning.

"Ahem!" Someone coughed, attracting his attention. Looking up, he saw another Shinra Guard, who saluted him.

"Yes?" he saluted back.

"Commander Rimes wants to see you," the Guard said. 

"What? But I'm on duty here, what if someone needs supplies?"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it. Best not to keep ol' Rimes waiting eh?" 

"Yeah, you're right." The Guard snapped the pen back in the clipboard's holder and handed it and the keys over to the second Guard. "Thanks. I'll be back soon, I hope." 

"Good luck." The Guard waited for the other to disappear round the corner of the corridor, then hastily sorted through the keys and unlocked the door that led into the equipment storage area.

The first area simply held ranks of machine guns, of the ill-made and badly kept kind that was issued to each Shinra Guard. He unlocked the door that led into the next area and found himself amongst the sharp swords given to beginner and low class Soldier's. Another key and he moved through into the third area, where basic materia and an assortment of different weaponry lay. This was a miscellaneous weapon store for 1st class Soldier and their like. A final click and he moved into the area reserved for the heads of department, particularly Scarlet and Heidegger, as well as being the second place Turks turned to for weapons after they had exhausted their private collection. 

Rare and mastered materia glittered in multicoloured ranks. Polished weapons gleamed on the walls, each a well honed instrument of death. The Guard swallowed nervously, and looked around him. Certain nobody else was in the room, he began sorting through the materia, slipping a few away into the folds and pockets of his uniform. Weapons came next, he picked only the smallest and easily concealed ones. Once he had squirreled away enough weaponry he carefully slipped back out, locking the doors behind him as he went. 

Outside, he picked up the clipboard and quickly crossed off the weapons and materia he had taken, listing the people who had supposedly collected it. He was adding Heidegger's name to the final item when he heard footsteps and he quickly snapped the pen back in its place and waited. The first Guard rounded the corner and came up to him.

"Thanks," he sounded cross. "Apparently someone's been spreading rumours that I've been stealing stuff from the store! Rimes had a right go at me, but I managed to convince him it was people after my job," he shook his head.

"Yeah, coveted position this. But you do great," the Guard handed back the clipboard and keys and started walking away. 

"Hey! Thanks for helping out!" 

"Sure, no problem," the Guard disappeared round the corner, feeling sweat running down his face. Hoping against hope he wouldn't be stopped by anybody, and feeling as though the lumps in his uniform were visible for miles, he hurried to the stairs and down them, eventually making it onto a nearly deserted floor. The Shinra building didn't have a basement and had been forced to designate this floor for the purpose. Abandoned machinery and broken chairs lay in heaps in the corners and a dusty table stood in the middle. A pilot was stood by the table.

"You got them?" he sounded nearly as scared as the Guard.

"Yeah," the Guard emptied his uniform, the small but powerful weapons in one pile and the bright materia orbs in another.

"Great..." the Pilot picked up one handgun, a tiny weapon barely 6 inches long. He touched the safety and it unlocked without a sound.

"We'll hide them here for now. We still need to wait for him to return." 

The Guard nodded, and together the two men started hiding the equipment around the room.

-~-~-~-

Marlene was examining an earthworm, squatting on the ground beside Elmyra. The older woman was looking over the plants distractedly, clipping off the occasional dying flower head or trimming back flourishing leaves. Marlene carefully picked the earthworm off the path and placed it back in the mud, watching it burrow down out of sight.

"I think this rose bush has had it," Elmyra announced suddenly, standing upright with a sigh. "Aeris could probably have brought it back, but I don't think I can. That girl had a way with flowers and no mistake."

"Aeris is the flower girl," Marlene said seriously.

"She was." Elmyra studied the bush, frowning. "Wait here while I go and fill the watering can." 

Marlene nodded, poking the ground where the earthworm had disappeared. Elmyra went into the house.

Marlene waited, but the worm didn't reappear and she grew bored. Standing up, she started hop-scotching down the path, doubling back on herself when she reached the end and counting the number of hops she made.

"28 – 29 – 30!" she did the last hop and landed with her feet apart.

"Impressive," a voice said flatly. Marlene looked up with a squeak of fright. The tall dark man who had taken the flower girl was back, looking at her with much the same expression he had worn then.

"You're the evil man!" she promptly turned and ran towards the house, filling her lungs with air, ready to scream.

One hand clamped over her mouth, and the second hooked round her feet and caught hold of her wrists. She struggled against the hold, trying to bite, punch, kick, whatever it took to escape. But the grip was firm, and her efforts were in vain.

-~-~-~-

Elmyra came out of the house, holding a small green watering-can. She had only filled it part way, she was hoping she could teach Marlene some basics about looking after plants and flowers. She looked around the garden, wondering where the girl had gotten to.

"Marlene?"

-~-~-~-

Reeve dropped the screwdriver onto the desk, and stretched. He'd finally fixed his radio. Flipping the on switch, he caught the last strains of some classical piece he couldn't recognise, before a steady beep told him the 9.00 news was coming up.

Standing up, he cleared away the remains of his work and threw the odd empty plastic coffee cup into the bin. The smooth tones of the Shinra presenter filled the room.

"...And finally we are sorry to report the death of Palmer, Head of the Space Program at Shinra. His demise has been linked to the terrorist group Avalanche, who have yet to be apprehended after fleeing the city directly after their involvement in the destruction of Sector Seven. Thank you and good night." 

"What?" Reeve looked at the radio in shock. He hadn't particularly liked Palmer, but nor had he particularly disliked him. He certainly preferred him to some of the other Head's of Departments. But it wasn't solely the idea of Palmer's death that had shocked him, rather it was the idea that a Head of Department had been killed. 

__

The last time an actual Shinra employee was killed must have been... right back during the war with Wutai! Not counting the President. Reeve switched off the radio. _Shinra is in a worse position that it looks. I wonder if..._ He shook his head, trying to avoid his negative thoughts. _No. Shinra aren't going to fall apart now. We're still too strong. Still, we've let things go too far when Department Head's are being killed._

He looked at the clock, debating whether to take over Cait Sith briefly and find out the true story behind the death. But it was late, and he needed to get home to feed the cats. So he left instead.

-~-~-~-

A/N: Keep going ^_~


	27. You're Stupid Too!

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Twenty Seven: You're Stupid Too!

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

"Tea twice a day? Are you outta your mind? I don't have time for making bloody pots of tea all day!" Reno threw the list of demands Elena had drawn up onto the desk, glowering at the slender blonde lady who was standing behind it, a cheerful smile on her face.

"Well I thought about that, and I saw that you actually get two breaks a day. Which is why I reduced it from three times a day," she responded. "So you are able to do that."

"I'm busy on my breaks!"

"I'm sure the bar will cope without your custom," Elena tapped the paper. "Now can I draw your attention to this clause here about swearing at, or around me..."

Reno made a choking noise. "You've got bitch and crap here! They're not swearwords!" 

"Well they should be! They're degrading."

"I don't give a fu – "

"Do you know what the punishment for lying to the Turk boss is? I looked it up and it involves – "

"I know what it involves!" Reno was feeling an overwhelming urge to throttle the other Turk. "This is blackmail dammit! And why the hell aren't you putting Rude through this?"

"'Hell' and 'damn' is off limits Reno." Elena said, tutting. "And Rude is okay... he's been fairly nice to me, unlike some people."

"I've been nice!" Reno noted the expression on Elena's face and rephrased his statement. "I haven't been as bad as I could have been!"

"And now you'll be as good as you can be," Elena pushed the paper over to him. "Now sign!"

"You can't do this to me!"

"OK, let me just contact Tseng..." Elena started to pull out her PHS.

"I'm signing, I'm signing!"

-~-~-~-

Marlene was terrified. First she had been kidnapped, then she had been taken to the top-plate, where there was no familiar metal ceiling, just horrible swirling colours and shapes above that made her feel ill. They had entered a tall building and gone into a glass lift and taken up a huge number of floors, the city below getting further and further away, until she thought she would faint from the height. And now she was in a cluttered, dark office with models of machines and buildings all around her whilst the 'evil' man and another man with a goatee were having a tense conversation about things she didn't understand.

"The Temple of the Ancients is beyond a legend, no one has ever found it. Of course there's rumours, but..."

"I'm telling you they're after the 'keystone', which supposedly opens it! It's at the Gold Saucer right now, and that's were they're heading!" Reeve sat down, trying to avoid looking at the little girl who was staring at him with wide eyes. He had no idea who she was, he had contacted Tseng as soon as he had found out the information from Cait Sith and the Turk had come straight to his office along with the child.

"...." Tseng frowned, trying to think up a plan. There was no way he could reach the Gold Saucer before Avalanche, but if the keystone _did_ open the Temple of the Ancients...

"Could this be the way to the Promised Land?" Tseng asked, a feeling of frustration welling up in him. After escaping from the fundamentalist religion of his childhood the last thing he wanted was to go hunting through temples for the very belief he had rejected.

"I don't see what else it could be," Reeve sat down in his chair, staring at the Cait Sith control module. It occurred to him suddenly that if he rewired a certain section he could halve its size.

"Reeve, I have an idea but I'm going to need your – or rather Cait Sith's – help," Tseng said, trying to work out how long it would take him to reach the Gold Saucer by helicopter. He'd have to stop for refuelling in Junon. 

Reeve continued to stare at the control module. One part of his brain was warning him not to do this, to get involved in Turk work was foolish, but as he opened his mouth he found himself asking;

"What do you need me to do?"

-~-~-~-

The Shinra Guard was somewhat suprised to see one of the Turks come down to the corridor that turned into the jail-cells. He saluted automatically, and was even more surprised when the Turk indicated for him to come to the end of the corridor, away from the cells. He complied, noting that whilst the sunglasses hid the Turks expression, a slight frown was embedded in his forehead.

"Yes sir?"

"........... Do you have prisoner named Joanna Gramercy?"

"We do sir. Would you like to see her?" The Guard started to reach for the keys, but the Turk stopped him.

"No! ...... I don't"

The Guard waited, but the Turk didn't elaborate so he prompted. "Did you need anything else...?"

"......." The Turk studied him, then he turned abruptly, shaking his head. The Guard watched him leave with confusion, but then he stopped and looked back.

"Treat her well."

"Um... Yes sir!" The Guard saluted again and the Turk walked out of sight.

-~-~-~-

Reno unlocked the door to his apartment with irritation. He had had a very bad day, and the pile of mail that had been shoved through the letter-box during his absence didn't help his mood. He flicked through them quickly, bills, car adverts, a letter from some chick who hadn't worked out 'I love you' meant 'screw me', more bills, a letter of resignation from his cleaner and yet more bills. He screwed the lot up and chucked them in the general direction of the bin. Then he headed for the shower, resolving to get cleaned up before going out and getting hammered.

He closed his eyes as the water hissed down around him, splashing over his body, refreshing and relaxing.

__

It rushed over him, a great unnatural river that fell from the plate above. Everyone had spilled out of their homes, first suspicious then delighted. The general opinion had been that it was a break in a pipe that ran through the structure that stretched over them.

The ones old enough to remember the time before the plate had spoken affectionately of rain, telling tales of water that fell from the sky as far as the eye could see. They taught him and his contemporaries how to have water-fights, and drip-races. People jumped from puddle to puddle, sending up sprays and splashing everyone nearby.

He was soaked, laughing. For a short time everyone had forgotten the grim reality of their lives and were simply enjoying the suprise for as long as it lasted.

He had scooped up great handfuls of water, most of it cascading through his fingers but enough left to splash his brother, who splashed back, whooping and making mock-threats – 

Brother?

Reno yanked the dial round, the water freezing for a second before cutting off. He fell back against the wall of the shower, shivering, arms wrapped round himself. The memory was already fading, slipping through his mind like quick-silver. He was left with a whirlpool of emotions. Shock, a fading feeling of happiness, a desperate desire to memorise every detail of the image, fear of the sudden lucid vision, and an almost unbearable sense of loss.

-~-~-~-

The five Shinra Guards and the pilot were once again grouped round the table. The materia and weapons were still hidden away around the room.

"He's back". The pilot looked at each Guard. "Are we ready?"

They nodded, as one.

"Then I propose we strike as soon as possible. Tomorrow, after he leaves the building."

A second nod, as one.

-~-~-~-

Reeve sat and listened to the conversation issuing from the tiny speaker. Every now and then he twisted his hands together and shot a glance towards the small girl still in his room, sat on the floor and listening to the voices with a sad expression on her face. Tseng had left her with some comment about how she might be useful. Reeve had no idea what he could mean.

Avalanche had been discussing Sephiroth, the Promised Land, and something about a Black Materia. Reeve had probed as far as he dared, but discovered little to help Shinra. And every time Barret or Tifa had spoken the little girl had looked as though she wanted to burst into tears which made Reeve feel very strange.

The group dispersed, and Reeve switched the auto-pilot back on. The worst part was yet to come, but he would have to wait a while for everyone to go to sleep.

"Why are you helping the evil man?" The little girl looked up at him. 

"Evil man?" Reeve had no idea what the girl could mean. He never met children for any length of time and had a vague idea that they spent most of the their time throwing tantrums. He hoped this one wouldn't.

"Yes. With the long hair."

"You mean Tseng? He's not evil."

She frowned. "Yes he is. He took the flower lady."

"That's because it was his job. I don't think he really wanted to."

"It's his job to be evil?" Marlene wrinkled her nose. "That's stupid."

"It's not his job to be evil... not really... But sometimes people have to do bad things in order for good things to happen."

"What good thing happened because he took the flower lady?" Marlene demanded.

"Well, nothing, because she escaped."

"My Papa escaped her," Marlene said, having followed the news fairly closely. "And what good thing would have happened if she hadn't?"

"Well... we would have found the Promised Land."

"Pfft. I know where the Promised Land is!"

"You do?" Reeve said, somewhat blankly.

"Yes. It's Aeris' garden!"

"No...We're after a different Promised Land."

"What's wrong with that one? It's pretty and smells nice."

"Well... It is a nice place, but it won't be for much longer."

"Why not?"

"Because it needs Mako. And we're running out."

"Why?"

"Because people like to use it on other things, like electricity. And that uses it up."

"My Papa said we can make electricity from water." Marlene said, knowing that anything Barret said was gospel truth.

"We can, but it's not as reliable and..." Reeve hesitated, trying to work out some way of explaining why Shinra had chosen Mako.

"You're stupid too," Marlene turned her back on the man. "If Mako was reliable there wouldn't be power-cuts all the time!"

"We're only getting power-cuts because 'Papa' blew up two of our reactors." Reeve said, somewhat offended.

"He's not _your_ Papa." Marlene turned back round. "And anyway, if Mako was reliable it wouldn't be running out!"

"Well when we find the Promised Land it won't _be_ running out!" 

"But you haven't found it yet." Marlene said swiftly.

"Yes, well... that's about to change!" Reeve turned back to the controller.

-~-~-~-

A/N: Anyone confused yet? No? Good, because all those separate plot-lines are going to have to start coming together soon. Well, 'soon' is an exaggeration since I have no idea how long this fic is going to end up ^^;; Anyway, hope you enjoyed the last 3 chapters and you're not bored yet. Let me know what you thought of them – and I hope I wrote Marlene like a 6-year old. An intelligent 6-year old. 


	28. Gratitude

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Twenty Eight: Gratitude

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Rude was puzzled by Reno's behaviour. They had met at a bar in sector four, and Rude had expected the usual pattern, him drinking and watching Reno chat up every woman in sight. Instead Reno seemed distracted and touchy, slouching at the bar and consuming even more hard liquor than usual.

"........" Rude studied his friend, wondering what was up. He remembered their strange conversation in Costa del Sol and frowned. Was he feeling guilty? That would be a first.

"What?" Reno turned and glared at his companion. 

".......nothing." Rude turned his head away and drank his vodka reflectively. He was worried. Most Turks investigated the fate of those that had gone before them, and most were not too happy with the results.

Few Turks retired. The majority were killed, some went crazy, a few committed suicide and one or two had simply disappeared. You couldn't quit, or be fired. If you messed up you were shot, Shinra had no time for failures. 

That was the downside, the part they didn't tell you before you joined. 

And Rude knew that it was more than likely to happen to him, or any of his co-workers. The odds were against you, that was why you had to escape your own thoughts, through drink or something else. You couldn't think, you just had to act. Otherwise you'd find yourself thinking of the consequences of the act and then you'd be lost.

He also knew that he didn't want it to happen. To him, or to his co-workers. He liked and appreciated Reno, and respected Tseng. They had been through too much together for him to feel any other way.

He didn't want Reno to go crazy. He was worried about him, and wanted to help, but how could he? Rude never knew the right words to say to comfort someone or defuse a situation. He had been taught the lesson many times; keep your mouth shut or you'll make things worse.

So he sat and worried, drinking vodka and trying to ignore the sullen and miserable friend beside him.

-~-~-~-

Tseng stood in the helicopter, watching the great golden mushrooms of the Gold Saucer come into view ahead of him. It was approaching one in the morning, and he hoped Reeve had succeeded in getting the entertainment centre closed for the night.

Fireworks dotted the sky, multicoloured sparks showering around the structure, lighting up the sky time after time. Cascades of balloons floated up, presumably to never return. Tseng shook his head, thinking about the amount of corruption that lay beneath the shiny outer-shell. 

"Sir?" The pilot spoke questioningly, eyeing the fireworks that were exploding around the sky.

"The Chocobo Square" Tseng said firmly. "But don't land. There should be someone waiting for us there"

"Yes sir!" The pilot swept the helicopter inwards, searching for the pink neon "chocobo racing" sign. 

-~-~-~-

Reeve was sweating. Even though it was Cait Sith running, not him, he felt such a strong connection to the robot at that moment that his breath was coming short and his legs were aching. Marlene was sat on the floor, watching him.

On the tiny screen that showed him what Cait saw appeared the Chocobo Square. He cursed softly, Tseng wasn't there yet! Sending the robot bounding up the stairs he risked a hasty look back and saw Cloud and Aeris tearing after him. Reeve moaned softly and prayed to any God that was listening to please let Tseng come quickly.

He ran Cait Sith round the lobby and shot back out the door and down the steps. A helicopter was in sight, Tseng leaning out of the door. Reeve didn't wait, making a clumsy throw and tossing the keystone up towards the waiting man.

"Here! The Keystone!" 

Tseng caught it expertly, and noted the two Avalanche members who had stopped, frozen and gaping at the scene.

"Well done," he called down to the robot, knowing it would be relayed back to Reeve. He indicated to the pilot, and the helicopter lifted up and away from the Gold Saucer.

-~-~-~-

"Hey!" Clouds voice came through the speaker, the fury nearly tangible. Reeve winced and looked over at Marlene, who was still staring up at him with wide-eyes.

"W, wait a second. I won't run or hide. Yes, I was a spy. I was hired by Shinra." Reeve spoke into the microphone, deciding against letting the auto-pilot take over again. He wanted them to understand the reasons why, though he wasn't entirely sure of them himself.

-~-~-~-

Three hours later the helicopter landed back at Midgar. The pilot glanced curiously towards the strange stone Tseng held, but knew not to question the Turk. 

Tseng didn't waste time. The computer quickly tracked down the most likely whereabouts of the temple Reeve had spoken of, and a few phone-calls to the nearby town Mideel confirmed it. The Turk leader considered reporting what he was doing to Heidegger, but decided against it. The last thing he wanted was to have to report failure again if it did come to nothing.

He did stop off at Reeve's office however, where he found the Head of Urban Development showing Marlene a schematic of a reactor and trying to explain the benefits of Mako, whilst Marlene contradicted him at every word. The second they saw Tseng both fell silent, and Marlene shot across the room and hid behind Reeve.

"..." Tseng frowned briefly. He had put the little girl out of his mind for the moment, but he would have to decide what do with her before he left. He couldn't expect Reeve to look after her, and he didn't like the idea of putting her in the jail cells. 

"Tseng," Reeve said. "It went okay....?"

"Yes. Good work." Tseng said shortly. Reeve heard a small voice inside his head say; _you know, you're actually _his _superior, not the other way round..._

"Marlene, come here." Tseng decided he had no choice, it would have to be the cells. Marlene made too good a weapon against Avalanche to risk her escaping. 

"No!" She clutched Reeve's leg, "Don't let the evil man take me!"

__

A girl, clutching onto a man's leg. Drekanov pulling out his gun without a flicker of an expression. A gunshot, a scream, and blood up the walls.

Tseng blinked. The scene was one that had plagued his sleep for the last five years, but it was unusual for him to see it in such detail. He looked at Marlene, the unsuspecting trigger of the flashback, who hid her face in Reeve's trouser leg.

"..." 

He changed his mind suddenly and without hesitation.

-~-~-~-

Elmyra sat on the bed and stared into the distance. It was quarter past five and she hadn't slept all night. She felt completely alone, and visions of Shinra experimenting on the child kept sliding across her mind.

There was a sudden knocking. She jumped up, a mixture of hope and fear rushing through her. Pulling on her dressing gown she ran down the stairs and opened the door.

"I've brought her back." The Wutaian said simply, and pushed the six year old into the kitchen. Elmyra dropped to her knees and clutched Marlene, the sudden relief temporarily disarmed her and tears ran down her face and into Marlene's hair. 

"Listen to me." The Wutaian sounded exasperated. "This isn't over and you're not safe. I'm not the only person who knows where Marlene is right now, and it won't take long for someone else to realise they can hold this against Avalanche. Do you understand?"

Elmyra nodded and looked up at him. "But where can we go? I can't get out of Midg – "

The key dropped in front of her, clattering onto the floor. She picked it up slowly. The key to the city gates was the biggest symbol of wealth and power there was. If one got into the wrong hands it could mean freedom for the entire slums. They were given only to Shinra employees who could be trusted beyond all else.

"I'll take you to Kalm, there's a lot of monsters outside Midgar," he said. "You should be safe there as long as you keep your heads down." 

-~-~-~-

Elena looked up as Reno staggered into the office, she barely noticed his hungover appearance she was in such a hurry to get her information out.

"Tseng gone to the Temple of the Ancients!" worry sent her voice up several octaves.

"Good." Reno promptly headed for the washroom.

Rude came in a few seconds later, and Elena immediately relayed the same message to him.

"......." he sat down at his desk and turned on the computer, ready to type up his reports. 

"Aren't you worried? Don't you know what the Temple of the Ancients is!?" Elena wailed.

"......No...." Rude said, somewhat reluctantly. "But Tseng will take care of it."

"He could be in trouble!" Elena hesitated, then suddenly jumped to her feet. "I'm going to help him! He's been working all night and now he's gone to a place crawling with monsters and Cetra stuff!"

Reno stuck his head round the washroom door. "How the hell do you know all this?" he demanded.

".... I looked it up when I got in." Elena said, somewhat defensively. "Anyway, I'm going!" 

Reno shook his head as he watched the blonde hasten out of the room. 

"Man she's got it bad," he muttered, disappearing back into the washroom to stick his head under the cold water tap.

-~-~-~-

Elmyra looked round the room and turned back to the door, already trying to put into words a gratitude that was inexpressible. But the Wutaian had gone, and her thanks disappeared into empty air. 

-~-~-~-

The Temple of the Ancients was a stepped pyramid structure at the centre of thick forestry. The yellow-brown stone glowed slightly in the sunshine, soft flickering motes twisting slowly through the air around it. Tseng looked up at it, memories of his childhood he didn't want tumbling through his head in quick succession. 

"Religious crap," he muttered under his breath, shoving the thoughts away. He had a job, he was going to do it and that was all that mattered.

He entered the temple.

-~-~-~-

A/N: If you don't remember from the game dialogue, Cait Sith plays Marlene's voice through to Cloud and his date, and that's why they agree to let him stay with them. I didn't put it in because I assumed you remembered and I didn't want to waste space on that whole conversation when I didn't have anything to add to it ^^;;

Next up: Tseng meets Sephiroth's sword, Reno meets some rather annoyed Shinra Guards. 


	29. I’m Not Going to Die!

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Twenty Nine: I'm Not Going to Die!

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Tseng navigated the maze without too much difficulty, though he noted the way items and boxes shifted their positions so that he could never approach them. The defence system clearly tapped into the Planets energy in some way, utilising a technique similar to that used by summon materia, which only let itself be found by those the Gods allowed.

It was oppressively silent. The occasional monster that roamed the ledges presented him with little difficulty, and he soon reached the end of the complex interlocking ledges and stone walkways and entered a long dark corridor, along which large hollow stone boulders rolled at regular intervals. Each boulder had a gap carved into it, just wide enough for a man to stand in without being crushed whilst the boulder rolled over him.

He strolled along the corridor, pausing as if by accident at exactly the right spot each time. Turning off about halfway along, he found a deep circular pool of water, glowing with a faint iridescent purple. 

He looked into it, wondering. But the surface was smooth and opaque, showing nothing but his own reflection. 

"Tseng!" The silence was broken abruptly, and he looked up. At the foot of the hallway stood Elena, who waved. "Wait up!"

He waited, whilst she ran backwards and forwards along the corridor, barely making into the gaps and once being chased all the way back to the beginning by a boulder where she couldn't make it into the gap at all. Eventually she reached the pool, out of breath. 

"Elena," he said. "What're you doing here?"

Elena flushed. _He doesn't need your help stupid! Look, he's obviously doing fine without you! You'll just slow him down!_

"I um... thought you might need back-up," she said, knowing it sounded lame. _He's going to make you go back, if he'd wanted you he would have sent for you! _

"Alright." He turned away from her, glancing at the pool again briefly before starting back towards the hallway and the boulders. She hurried after him, unable to believe her ears. 

"We're looking for something, anything that might tell us how to get to the Promised Land," he spoke without looking back at her, stopping as a boulder sank down around him and rolled past. Elena gulped and followed him into the corridor, diving forward just in time to make it under the gap herself. For a second everything was grey stone, then it passed and she ran forward, keeping an eye on the next one, ready to freeze at any moment.

"The Promised Land..." she stopped again, as the second boulder rolled around her. "I guess it really does exist then? I thought it didn't..."

"Yes. You were going to tell me what you researched about it." Tseng turned the corner, vanishing from her sight. She ran faster, not wanting to lose him.

"Well uh... I read a lot of the official scientific research into it, about it's properties and so forth," she turned the corner herself, to find Tseng leaning against the wall waiting. "Uh... but that wasn't enough so I also looked at ... legends and myths, the kinds of things that normal people think of when they think of the Promised Land."

"Yes?" He was giving her his undivided attention, and she struggled for words under his gaze.

"And what I thought was... it's not so much a place that you can find, it's not really a Land. It's more a state of mind... it's like..." she trailed off, twiddling her fingers. "I guess I'm not making much sense."

"Keep going."

"Well... The Cetra went there when they died right? Supposedly... And a lot of people think that means it's a kind of Heaven right? But we all know that when someone dies their spirits get taken into the Lifestream until being reincarnated somewhere else. So what I thought is, maybe it's the state of mind someone achieves just _before_ they die."

"Then why do we say it's a land of abundant Mako?"

"Because I think it's when you're looking into the Lifestream. But you've still got just enough of you left to understand."

"Interesting." Tseng nodded slowly. 

"I'm sorry." Elena looked at the ground. "Obviously it must exist because we're here looking for it."

"Just because you look for something doesn't mean it exists." Tseng started walking again. "The President believes it exists, and that means we have to find it. Whether it actually does or not is fairly irrelevant."

Elena frowned. "But...." 

"Enough." Tseng cut her off. "The only important thing at the moment is to explore this temple." 

-~-~-~-

By the time they reached the main room of the Temple, Tseng's respect for her had gone up several notches, though she didn't know it. She was too busy picking dragon scales out of her hair to notice him pause and study her for a brief second before turning to the walls of the room.

It was long and narrow, made of the same richly coloured stone as the outside. There was a strong yellow light that didn't seem to have any particular source, diffusing along the floor and yet leaving the roof in shadows.

The walls were covered in enormous pictures. Tseng frowned as he looked at them.

Elena ran past him and down to the end of the room, making a quick but total analysis of the whole place. 

"Tseng, what's this? Can we find the Promised Land with this?" she said finally, coming back to where he stood. 

"...I wonder. Anyway, we have to report to the President." Tseng turned from the pictures, and looked at her again. She nodded instantly and started around him. 

__

Always enthusiastic and quick to follow orders... and smarter than I gave her credit for. Tseng smiled faintly. _She'll make a better Turk than Reno thinks at least._

"Be careful, Tseng." Elena had paused, reluctant to leave whilst they had been getting on so well. She wanted to thank him, for listening to her and for agreeing to let her accompany him. But she knew to do so would be unprofessional, would suggest she doubted her own skills. 

"Yeah... Hey Elena, how 'bout dinner after this job's over?" 

She froze, her mind replaying the last sentence. _He can't mean... does he mean...? _

"Th... Thank you very much," she said, her head jerking up and down like a puppet on a string. She felt like all her motor-functions had temporarily seized up and she was unable to stop the enormous smile that spread across her face. Realising she was about to burst into tears of pure joy she hastily said "If I may be excused..." and ran from the room, where she whooped several times and started a quick and spontaneous dance.

-~-~-~-

Reno stared blankly at the computer screen, oblivious of the text that scrolled across it. The pile of reports he had meant to type up had gotten no smaller since the start of the day.

__

I wonder if...

He kept half an eye on Rude as he closed the program and accessed the Shinra network. If he had a brother, or if Elena was right and he had an entire family, all he needed to do to prove it was find their records. 

-~-~-~-

The helicopter took off, Elena grinning out of the window. The scenery spread out below them as it started its journey back to Midgar. She noticed, but didn't really think about, three people crossing the open land to the west, heading towards the forest.

-~-~-~-

The Shinra Guards slipped away from their various squads, the Pilot left the Helipad, and all six met once again in the junk room. 

They pulled the weapons and materia out of the hiding places and distributed them amongst themselves. The Pilot took the tiny gun, stowing the firearm in his belt.

"We know the plan of attack?"

Nods.

"You've got the steal materia?" This to one Shinra Guard.

"Yes," he waved the yellow orb. 

"And you're ready to cast wall?" This to another, who again nodded.

"And I've got this." The Pilot patted the gun in his belt. "We're ready then. We'll follow him when he leaves, and as soon as he's away from the main building.... we do it."

-~-~-~-

"Is this the Promised Land? No, it can't be..."

Tseng shook his head. _What are we supposed to do? Throw giant flaming _rocks_ around or something? This doesn't match up with anything I've heard of..._

A sudden flash of white light, right on the edge of his vision. 

He turned, automatically.

Kneeling on the floor, sword held straight up, Sephiroth raised his head. 

"Sephiroth!!" Tseng was stunned. There had been no sound, no warning at all. 

The warrior stood, in one fluid motion. Green eyes met his, held the gaze for a fraction of a second and then broke it, looking past him.

"So you opened the door. Well done." A frozen voice, the words brittle and sharp. Tseng took a wary step forward, and paused. There was something else, something on his left, something so faint he couldn't make it out visually though all his other senses were screaming at him.

"This place... what is it?" Tseng knew one thing; he couldn't defeat Sephiroth. Not alone. 

"A lost treasure house of knowledge. The wisdom of the Ancients..." Sephiroth turned and raised his arms, an all encompassing gesture. "I am becoming one with the Planet." 

"One with the Planet?" Tseng's mind was racing, _I can't defeat him, but he doesn't know how strong I am either... All I have to do is find out as much as I can, and survive long enough to tell someone._

Sephiroth turned back to Tseng, leaving behind a ghostly after-image that glowed and faded. No longer able to see the after-image, Tseng could sense it was still there. _Shadows in the air to the left... who or what are they?_

"You stupid fools. You have never even thought about it. All the spirit energy of this Planet. All its wisdom... knowledge... I will meld with it all. I will become one with it... It will become one with me." 

"...you can do that?" _Three figures... there's three people to the left and there's another Sephiroth. Ghosts? Ancients?_

"The way....... lies here." 

Faint laughter, on the edge of his hearing. 

"Only death awaits you all. But do not fear." 

He didn't dodge. To draw out a losing battle would only cost him in the long run. Instead he took the sword blow, allowing the sharp blade to slide into him below his rib-cage, deliberately twisting himself on the blade so it just missed his spinal cord. Pain exploded inside him, a fragmented star-burst that shot through his whole body. He fell to the ground, the sword sliding free with a spray of blood, his blood. He wanted to scream, to somehow end the pain, wanted to grab the wound and stop his blood from running out across the floor, but he forced himself not to, forced himself to lie still even with his life spilling from him in a great rivulet of red. He had to play dead.

"For it is through death that a new spirit energy is born. Soon, you will live again as a part of me." Sephiroth's voice, no change in the icy tones marking the slumped body. Tseng waited, every muscle screaming at him to move, to escape, to stop the wound, to stop the pain, every warning system in his body going full pelt. He felt light-headed, the pain had turned from a sharp jagged starburst into a dull ache that throbbed at the same rate as his heartbeat.

Silence. He waited, unmoving, eyes closed. Nothing. _Get out get out get out get out_, his body cried to him. _Wait. Patience. Be sure, _he thought. 

Still nothing. He let his body take over, curling up automatically round the wound, stopping the blood flow as best he could. The pain had changed again, becoming a blunt saw scraping through him. He had lost a lot of blood. 

He stood, and it hurt. He took a step and nearly cried out it hurt so much. Everything was going dark, and he stood still for a second, breathing deep.

__

I'm not going to die. Not here. Not now.

He forced another step, gritting his teeth and ignoring the protests that ran through him. Every movement was agony, a pain from somewhere deep inside. The sword had gone clear through him he realised, and blood was forcing its way through the fingers he had clamped over the hole.

__

Walk! Ignore it, just keep walking!

He wasn't sure how he made it across the clock hands, wasn't sure how he managed the rolling boulders. By the time he reached the maze he could barely see, he was keeping the darkness back by sheer force of will. 

Perhaps it was the smell of the blood, perhaps monsters are naturally drawn to the injured. Either way Tseng found himself under attack by far more of the creatures that crawled the maze on his way out than on his way in. With his martial arts useless he was forced to use his standard issue hand-gun instead. The weapon was powerful, but not powerful enough, and by the time he reached the exit more than a few of the monsters had added wounds of their own. 

He left the maze, and lifted the keystone out of the altar before sliding down against it. There was a faint hum as the Temple closed off the access, and he leant back against the stone, one hand over the sword injury.

Footsteps.

"Hey! It's Tseng!" Aerith's voice. He looked up. 

Cloud, Aerith and Tifa. Pride forced him up, he wasn't going to be spoken down to by Avalanche. 

"Tseng? Of the Turks?" Cloud, eyeing him thoughtfully. 

"Uh... I've been had." Another rip of pain through his body and he slid unwillingly back down. "It's not the Promised Land... Sephiroth's searching for..." 

"Sephiroth? He's inside!?" Cloud sounded urgent. 

"Look... for yourself..."Tseng lifted one hand and indicated the altar. "Damn... Letting Aerith go was the start... of my... bad luck..." He felt a sudden sense of bitterness against the circumstances that had led him here. The Promised Land didn't exist, had never existed. He had been sent here on a wild goose chase, and if he died it would all be the fault of the idiots who had drained the Planet and complained when it started to run dry. "The President... was wrong..." 

  
"You're wrong." Aerith, anger shaking her voice. "The Promised Land isn't like what you imagined." 

__

I know. 

"And, I'm not going to help. Either way, there was no way Shinra could have won." 

__

I know. We're going to tear ourselves apart anyway.

He kept his thoughts to himself, getting to his feet for a second time. "...pretty harsh. Sounds like something... you'd say." He spoke to Cloud, clearly the leader whatever the Shinra files might say about Barret. Taking the Keystone from his pocket he held it out to the spiky-haired warrior. "The Keystone... Place it... on... the altar..." 

Without waiting to see if his instructions were followed or not, he moved away from the group to the side of the room and leant against a pillar. Everything was fuzzy, he could hear them speaking but not make out what they were saying. Were there green sparks in the darkness on the edge of his vision? 

__

I'm not going to die.

The pain had flickered into nothing, instead there was a sense of paralysis, everything around the wound had gone icy numb.

__

I'm not going to die.

The room had emptied, though he had no idea if Avalanche had left or gone into the Temple. He moved slowly, everything felt stiff and seized. Blood started seeping from the wound again. He took off his jacket and shirt, ripping the latter into long strips. The fuzziness had extended to his movements, he was clumsy and could barely see as he bound himself up. He left his jacket on the floor, trying to put it back on would be too taxing, but he did pick up the gun. 

He started to stand and fell back down again. His legs couldn't, wouldn't hold his weight. He took another deep breath, feeling the skin around the wound stretch and break further as he did so, and put his hands against the pillar, pulling himself up. 

He couldn't walk, his legs weren't responding at all. Instead he performed a series of controlled falls from pillar to pillar, and then to the entrance. He slid down the steps of the temple, leaving a growing trail of blood as he did so. Thinking was beyond him now, it took all his conscious effort to hold back the darkness, to keep moving. Away from the Temple, that was important thing. 

Perhaps his luck turned. Perhaps the Planet guided his blind steps. But when he finally collapsed unconscious he was just a few feet from the town of Mideel.

-~-~-~-

Elena skipped down the stairs of the Shinra building, going from the President's office to the Turks. It was nearly time to leave, she couldn't wait to get home and start going through her wardrobe to find a suitable dress to wear for the evening. She hoped she could find a good enough outfit, she hadn't been much given to buying dresses and clothes, never really having anywhere to wear them before now. 

"Hi guys!" she danced into the office, joy and good will radiating off her.

Reno shot her poisonous look and hit the power button on his computer before standing up and sloping out of the office. She shrugged, even he couldn't damage her good mood. 

"Hi Rude!"

"........" Rude shut down the computer properly and also left the office. 

Elena rolled her eyes. "Bye then..." she grabbed her coat and strolled out, giving a cheerful greeting to everyone she passed on the way.

-~-~-~-

Reno walked without seeing through the streets of Midgar. The files had been there, a scrolling block of text confirming everything Elena had said, everything he had suspected from the flashback, and the strange feelings.

He felt lost. Life had been simple up to this point; Shinra told him what to do and he did it. Right and wrong didn't feature, it wasn't up to him to decide that. It had been his duty to protect Shinra, protect Midgar and make sure everything went to plan.

Then Avalanche had shown, he'd ended up in hospital and everything went wrong. His brain started playing tricks on him, Rude started questioning him, and Elena had turned up, an anti-thesis to everything the Turks were meant to be. 

There was a click from behind him. And the world exploded.

-~-~-~-

A/N: I have to stop it there, sorry ^^;; It was getting rather long. Nearly double what I usually write. If you can review, please do, but I admit it's been a bit come and go recently. Anyway, hope you liked it! Not too much of a cliff-hanger at least. *hides from readers*


	30. Maybe He’s In Trouble

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Thirty: Maybe He's In Trouble

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Rude set the empty shot glass down on the table, and leant back in his chair. Behind the sunglasses his eyes were closed, his thoughts turned inward. 

__

Maybe if I apologised... I should never have ended it the way I did. 

The night was quiet, only the background hum of the reactors disturbed the peace. He was sliding into sleep, internal worries smoothing away....

The explosion shattered the silence. Rude jumped to his feet, instinctively thinking of Avalanche and their bombs. 

He looked out across Midgar, and saw the smoke curling up from two sectors away. It would take at least fifteen minutes to make it there. He sighed and headed for the door.

-~-~-~-

The blast threw Reno head-first up the street and into the metal wall at the far end, which collapsed under the force of the shot. The floor buckled and blistered, and the Mako powered lights flickered off.

"Shit!" The Pilot dropped the gun and clutched his arm, which had borne the full brunt of the recoil. "My arm! It's broken!"

"Steal!" The guards had already reached the fallen Turk, and were quickly carrying out their plan. Reno, dazed from the explosion and struggling to extract himself from the crumbled remains of the wall, suddenly found himself divested of his electro-mag rod. Swearing profusely he made an attempt to grab it back, but the Shinra Guard had already jumped back.

"Wall - " A second guard went to use his own materia, but was knocked off his feet by a sudden leg-hook from Reno. He crashed to the ground, the spell dying on his lips. Reno flipped himself out of the rubble, landing in a half crouch, a defensive posture, whilst he scanned the attackers.

The fallen guard also clambered back to his feet, cursing and grabbed his materia again. 

"Wa - "

Reno ran forward and used the guards shoulders as a springboard to flip himself up and over the group. The guard started to turn, desperately trying to keep the spell under control, but Reno grabbed the back of his uniform and threw him headfirst into the wall. The guard's head smashed against it, the masked helmet breaking loose and revealing a young man, with soft brown hair now clumped and matted with the blood that was flowing from his nose.

__

Shiva... he can't be any more than 14, Reno thought with disgust, turning away from the unconscious body.

The remaining four guards clumped together as they faced him, automatically seeking safety in numbers. Reno smirked slightly, enjoying their obvious discomfiture. 

"What's the matter? Can't finish what you started?" 

"Don't let him back up!" The Pilot's voice echoed up the street, twisted with pain. Reno started to turn, only to find himself once more being blown backwards by a second shot from the gun. The Pilot cried out as his broken arm was further twisted and shattered by the recoil. 

"Get him!" The Shinra Guards instantly piled on top of Reno as he smashed back up against the broken wall. Punching, kicking and slamming their machine guns into him, they kept up a frenzied, savage attack designed to keep the Turk from rising again. 

"Shit!" Reno yelled, as the blows slammed into him. The pummelling was taking its toll, he could feel darkness edging up on him. With a strength born of desperation he lashed blindly upwards, his fist connecting with one guards stomach and sending him flying backwards. The temporary let up was all he needed, and he was back on his feet, this time attacking immediately.

He sent a flying kick into a second guard, sending him crashing down on top of his comrade and immediately twisted round, grabbing one of the remaining two guards and snapping his arm back, hearing the crunch as the bone broke. The guard screamed, and Reno let go, spinning to face the final guard who was racing forwards with his machine gun aloft. Reno ducked the blow, and lifted the guard round the stomach, throwing him up and over his shoulder. 

The fourteen year old brown haired guard came round with a groan of pain. Looking up, he saw the Turk demolishing the rest of his group. Ignoring the blood that was flowing freely from his head, he started to crawl determinedly down the street towards the pilot who was curled up round his arm, sobbing quietly.

"Thought you could beat a Turk huh?" Reno raged, as he slammed his foot down on a fallen guard. "Thought you could just waltz up and attack for no fucking reason - "

"There was a reason!" The young guards voice resounded down the street, and Reno groaned. Spinning round, he found himself facing the muzzle of the gun that had already laid him low twice, this time in the hands of the bleeding youth. The gun was shaking, the guard was having difficulty holding it.

"Put it down." Reno snarled, knowing a third shot would be more than he could take. He was already weakened from the previous shots, and the pummelling. He was shaking nearly as badly as the guard.

"You killed my sister! She was four you bastard! Four! She didn't even have a chance..." The guard swayed, but somehow managed to keep the gun trained on the Turk. "You killed her. You're a murderer. You're worse, you killed children...... I'm going to kill you!" Tears were running from the guard's eyes, mixing with the blood and coating his face in streaks of red. For a second Reno's harsh, Mako-glowing icy blue-green eyes met soft, grieving brown ones.

Then the guard pulled the trigger.

-~-~-~-

Rude rounded the corner, panting from the long run he had made. Shinra Guards littered the street, some still, some moaning softly. Slumped over a smoking gun was an unmasked guard, clearly dead. 

And past that...

"......Reno!?"

-~-~-~-

Elena sat on her bed, staring at the elegant black evening dress that was draped over the back of a chair opposite her. 

__

I should call him... find out what's wrong. It's late. He should have called. I should call him. What if something's happened? What if it hasn't? What if he forgot? What if he was joking? No... he wouldn't do that. I should call him.

Her PHS buzzed, and she jumped. Answering it so hastily she nearly dropped it, she yelped into it, "Tseng?"

".....Rude........... I need you. Bring a cure materia. And a phoenix down. And handcuffs."

Elena blinked. 

"Um... what for exactly?"

"........ mutiny....... Just bring them." 

-~-~-~-

"I do hate Turks." Hojo said pleasantly to the animal yanking and twisting crazily on the end of a chain. Foam flowed from its mouth, and feral yellow eyes rolled in its head.

"Tut... stop pulling. You'll choke yourself." Hojo shook his head. The chain wasn't the best way of keeping subjects under control. He missed his Shinra laboratory, with all the equipment he needed. The basement of a house in Costa del Sol just wasn't the same.

"Hopefully those malignant cells I put in his morphine back when he was in hospital will have started working by now." The scientist mused to himself. "Reversing the previous experiment of course. Perhaps we'll be lucky and he'll shoot his partners when the guilt really sets in, eh Pussy? Turks.... so reliant on force and image and style eh? They have no respect for science."

The giant cat screamed as her muscles swelled against her fur, her very insides changing shape. As she threw her head back the nose gradually lengthened and her gums began bleeding under the pressure of new, larger and sharper teeth.

"Yes... the cells should be working right now..." 

-~-~-~-

Reno was detached from himself, floating free in a soft sparkling green cloud. Everything was warm, and there was a smell of flowers, cut grass and sunshine. Even in his drowsy, semi-aware state he appreciated the rare scent. 

"Mum! Mum! Reno stole my blankee!" The little boys voice cut through the cloud like a knife, a nearly tangible force. The scent disappeared, replaced by the dank rot of the slums. Reno opened his eyes, still detached, an omnipresent observer.

He was overlooking a kitchen, a slum kitchen. The walls were cracked and peeling, the table rough and wooden. A tired looking woman with short red hair was stirring a pot on a botched looking stove. A boy, around two, had fastened himself onto her leg, sobbing. "He stole my blankee!"

The woman sighed and put a lid on the pot. The little boy pulled her across the room and into the hall, where a slightly older boy was showing a four year old girl how to fold a tattered blanket up to make a rose. 

"Reno, you know Gerry doesn't like people taking his blanket." The woman chided as she took the half-folded blanket away from the older boy. 

"I was just trying to show Ali how to make origami" The boy said crossly. 

"Well show her with something else." The woman gave the blanket to Gerry, and went back into the kitchen. 

__

That's me? Reno frowned at the boy. The little girl - Ali - tugged on his shirt. 

"Tell me a story instead," she suggested.

"Ok." The Reno-child replied. "I'll tell you the story of the three chocobo's and the mean old wolf." 

"Goodie!" The girl sat on the floor, smiling cheerfully as the Reno-child began the fairytale. Reno shook his head.

__

I... remember this. Today was an important day. But why? Frustration bubbled up inside him at the memories he could feel, but not see. The scene before him shattered, breaking up into green shards. 

__

Something happens. I know it did! Why can't I remember?

-~-~-~-

"....... he spends a lot of time in hospital....." Rude said, as they left the ward. 

"Has Tseng called you? Recently?" Elena asked nervously. After putting the Shinra Guards in jail, with the exception of one who had been dead from a head wound, and taking Reno to the hospital wing after the phoenix down had failed to revive him, she had found her thoughts once more turning to the man who had invited her out that evening. 

"......no." Rude looked at his watch and sighed. The bars would have just closed, and it hardly seemed worth going home.

"It's just... I think he might... he said he'd take me out." Elena went pink. "But then he didn't, and he hasn't called or anything."

"........" Rude looked at the blushing Turk. 

"I just... he might be in trouble."

"....Did you call him?" 

Elena shook her head. Rude frowned slightly and took his PHS out. Pressing a button, he held the device up to his ear and waited. After a minute had passed his frown deepened.

"What is it?" Elena asked anxiously.

".....nothing. Not even a tone." Rude looked at the blonde. "..... We'll take a helicopter."

-~-~-~-

A/N: Nothing to say! Nearly at the end of disk one now ^_~


	31. Grief

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Thirty One: Grief

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Floating. Twisting through half-caught scenes, flickers of events. A smile, a single blade of grass forcing its way through a crack in the pavement, a light turning off, a shelf of food-cans, someone shouting, the smell of illness, sights and sounds and smells.

Everything faded out, and he was once again watching himself. Another slum house, this one slightly more luxurious. A faded pattern of roses decorated the walls, and there were two stuffed armchairs, both new.

He was older here, at least 18 or 19. Leaning against the wall of the room, twirling his electro-mag rod and smoking, whilst his eyes were fixated on the door. 

__

I remember this. After I became a Turk. Some guy running weapons to Wutai. Not a major mission, just an assassination. Why am I here?

The door clicked open and a tall, dark haired man with a paunch entered the room. He was slightly hunched, as though trying to hide into himself, and his eyes were focused on the floor. Without noticing the Turk stood against the far wall he turned and locked the door. 

"...Have to get out..." his voice was thick and deep. "Have to get Martha and get out."

"I hear Gongaga is nice this time of year," Reno-Turk said cheerfully from behind him. 

The man spun round, eyes wide and bloodshot, his face pure white. The Reno-Turk grinned, obviously enjoying the sight of the man's fear.

"Who - who are you? Why are you in my house?" The man made an attempt to sound normal.

"I'm Reno. Pleased to meetcha." Reno-Turk stubbed his cigarette out against the wall and did a mock bow. "I'm a Turk. You won't have heard of us."

"A... Are you from... Shin-Ra?"

"Something like that." Reno-Turk flicked the button on his electro-mag rod and electricity crackled from the end. "I hope you didn't have anything planned for this evening."

"No - !" The man took a step back, hands upraised in supplication, but Reno-Turk was already across the room. There was a sudden burst of blue-white light and the man slid to the floor, twitching but dead.

"Johan!" The woman came running down the stairs, and into the front room. Seeing the man sprawled across the floor and the Turk standing over him she froze for a second, before throwing herself forward onto the dead body. "Johan! Get up! Get up!"

Reno-Turk took his lighter out and lit another cigarette.

"Johan! Please!" The woman's face was twisted with grief, tears ran unchecked down her face and her voice had become a moaning wreck. Reno-Turk gave her a blank look, the look of someone who neither understood nor cared what was wrong.

__

She was stupid. I didn't even know she was in the house. If she hadn't ran out to him she'd have been able to escape no problem. Reno frowned. _Why the hell would anyone do something so dumb as to run out to a dead body when the murderer is right there?_

Reno-Turk lifted the rod and brought it down on the woman's head. She crumpled on top of the man, also dead.

__

Idiot woman. Reno shook his head as everything dissolved around him again. _This sucks! I already knew about that dammit, it's not important! I want to know what happened on that other day... _

-~-~-~-

"............" Rude looked down the enormous square hole in the ground. The bottom was a long way below, the walls roughshod earth. 

"It was here!" Elena wailed, unable to believe her eyes. "The temple was here I swear!"

"............" He looked around. Forest surrounded the area, the huge straight-edged hole was the only break in the trees.

"Tseng was here! In the temple! What happened!?" Elena scrambled over the edge and started climbing down the earthen wall.

Rude listened to her laments fade slightly as she got further away. He lifted his PHS again and tried to call Tseng for the third time. Dead silence was his only reward. 

"........." He stared into the distance. 

"Rude" Elena clambered back over the edge and knelt there, shaking. "Rude, he's not here."

"...... Did you see anything suspicious as you left?" 

"No I.... wait.... yes! I saw three people coming towards the temple. I saw...." Elena started shaking harder as she remembered. "I saw Avalanche."

".........." Rude looked at the place where the Temple had been.

"Rude... he's not... he's not...."

"........." Rude crossed his arms, and dropped his gaze to the ground. 

"Oh Shiva..." 

-~-~-~-

Reno opened his eyes.

"Oh man, not here again!" 

The doctor sighed. "Yes, here again. You suffered some minor concussion. Nothing serious. You were attacked by some Shinra Guards apparently."

__

You killed my sister! She was four you bastard! Four! She didn't even have a chance. You killed her. You're a murderer. You're worse, you killed children...... I'm going to kill you! 

Reno frowned as the guard's last words replayed through his head.

"People sure get worked up over nothing huh? What happened to 'em?"

"I'm not sure, I think your friend dealt with it." The doctor picked up a clipboard and shuffled away. "You can leave anytime, as I said before; just minor concussion. I'm suprised the phoenix down wasn't enough."

"Yeah, ok." Reno slid out of the hospital bed. "I'll give Rude a buzz, find out what he did with them."

-~-~-~-

Joanna looked at the Shinra Guard she was now sharing the cell with. He looked back at her. 

There was silence.

-~-~-~-

Rude stared out of the helicopter window. Elena was crying, soft gentle sobs from the opposite seat. Everything seemed far away, like it was wrapped in cotton wool. He was numb.

His PHS buzzed. He slowly answered it, his movements stiff and clumsy.

"......"

"Rude buddy! Don't leave me ringing for too long yeah?"

"........." Rude couldn't reply, his voice had seized up.

"Rude?" Reno's voice became concerned. "What's up?"

"....... Tseng......"

  
"Tseng?"

"........ dead ......." The word came, a word he was familiar with. A word that had long ago lost its ability to shock. He had become inured to it, had used it so often it had lost any kind of meaning.

And it hurt. It hurt all the way down inside him. Rude felt the word leave his mouth and with it went any hope that he could be wrong. Tseng was dead. And it wasn't a statement empty of meaning, it meant loss and it meant pain.

Rude dropped the PHS and bent over. He couldn't cry, it went beyond that. All he could do was hurt.

-~-~-~-

Reno sat on the bed, his fingers cradled round the PHS. Eyes glazed over, he was frozen and still.

__

"Tell me a story instead," she suggested.

"Ok." he replied. "I'll tell you the story of the three chocobo's and the mean old wolf." 

"Goodie!" Ali sat on the floor, smiling cheerfully as he began the fairytale. In the kitchen his mother was cooking, something that smelt nice. Gerry was listening to the story too, curled up with the blanket. He was getting into the story, jumping and down, acting out the parts. Ali was laughing.

There was a knock at the door, his mother went to answer it. He stopped the story, and went over to the door to listen, it wasn't often they got visitors. Ali came too, and they both stood there, listening. A man was speaking, a stranger.

"We're sorry Mrs Denli. Your husband was crushed by the machinery. I'm afraid he's dead."

__

"D... dead?"

__

He and Ali had looked at each other, understanding without understanding. Ali had spoken first. 

"Daddy's... dead?"

And he had stared into her frightened eyes, and he had wanted to cry.

"Reno!" The doctor was shaking him. Reno raised his eyes and looked at him. The doctor let go and took a step back. 

He stood slowly, and looked round the hospital room. It was white, windowless. Nothing had changed and yet everything had, and he felt a desperate desire to get out into the open. 

The doctor stared at the door as it banged shut after the running Turk.

-~-~-~-

Reno tore up the stairs. Flight after flight passed him by as he shot further up the Shinra building. Breathing became painful, his heart hammered in his chest and his vision was blurring. He ran faster.

He burst onto the roof and into the safety rail. Leaning over it, he gasped for breath. Midgar stretched out below, dark and gloomy even in the day. He shut his eyes, he didn't want to look down at the tiny people and buildings. 

The sound of a helicopter landing. He didn't move, staying half over the safety rail, eyes shut. Footsteps. A hand touching him on the shoulder.

He turned and opened his eyes. Rude stood there, a solid shadow blocking out the sun. Misery streamed from every tense line in his body. No words were needed. 

Elena was just behind, and Reno looked into her eyes, wet, frightened eyes. Memories of his sister ached inside him and he held out his arms. She looked up at him for a moment, and then collapsed forward into them, tears spilling from her eyes and soaking into his chest. Her unrestrained tears broke down the last of his barriers, and he too began to cry.

-~-~-~-

A/N: The hardest chapter I've written yet. If ff.net's reviews still aren't working you can send questions/comments/flames etc to _interfaceleader@hotmail.com_, or alternatively you can leave a message for me on the TurkBoard at _http://shin-ra.net/turks/_

Hope you're still interested enough to keep reading, thanks for all your feedback ^_^


	32. What Else Can I Do?

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Thirty Two: What Else Can I Do?

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

People ran about the office, talking at speed on PHS's and phones. The coffee machine was developing a queue, and the air conditioning had just cut out for the third time that day.

"Can't they get those bloody reactors back online already?" groaned an overweight employee in a suit as he wiped his hand across his perspiring forehead and pulled a sheet of paper from his printer.

"Yes ma'am. Yes…" another employee said into a PHS, before pressing the end call button. "Man Scarlet is such a goddamn bitch. What's she wanting all these parts for anyway?"

"Beats me," the overweight employee said, glancing over the printout. "At least you don't have to deal with goddamn Heidegger. He's so desperate to prove himself to his highness Rufus he's got us all working overti - is that right?"

"What?" 

"This printout - look, it's an aerial photograph of topography to the north. I've been looking at them all day, Odin knows why. But see here? This kind of crack or something? What's that inside it?"

"Beats me. Why not send it up to Heidegger? Maybe it'll give him that medal he's after."

"Yeah, and the promotion I'm after. The wife wants to redecorate _again_."

-~-~-~-

Heidegger's office was damp and hot, the broken air conditioning leaving everything sweating. 

"…. And, with the assumed death of Turk commander Tseng, the decision has been made to promote Turk Reno Denli to the post, and Rude Jacques to second in command." Heidegger laid the memo from Rufus on the table and glowered at the three Turks stood before him. "Onto more important things. We've discovered something strange in the north. Possibly the Promised Land, gya-ha-ha-ha! Therefore - "

"The Promised Land doesn't exist!" Elena interrupted suddenly. "How many more people are going to die before you realise that it's all a stup - " she was cut off by Reno stamping on her foot. "Ow!"

"Idiot!" Reno hissed.

"Gya-ha-ha-ha! The Promised Land not exist? Preposterous! It must exist, all the scientific evidence points to it." Heidegger glowered at the blonde Turk. "In fact, why don't _you_ go investigate it? Gya-ha-ha!"

"M-me?" Elena flushed, and then frowned. "Fine sir." 

"Good. Reno, you and Rude will be assisting Scarlet. She's become obsessed with finding these huge materia's. Dismissed."

-~-~-~-

The Turks walked towards the stairs, intent on leaving the building. 

"We should go after Avalanche." Elena said, flatly. "They killed him."

"……." Rude turned his head away and looked at the wall. The Shinra logo, its familiar red and white shapes stared blankly down at him. 

__

We owe him revenge.

"No." Reno's voice was as flat and measured as Elena's, no trace of a sneer. Just a simple denial.

"No? Why not!? They killed him!" Her voice began to shake; blank misery had turned, as it so often does, into anger. "They deserve to die for what they did! They killed one of the best, one of the most brilliant men on the Planet! We need to bring them to justice!"

"Justice? We don't deal in justice. We do our job. That's all."

"You're not going to do _anything_!?"

"Elena… we've killed members of Avalanche. Tseng himself gave one of them over to Hojo to use as an experiment. As far as they're concerned killing him was probably 'justice'." Reno looked up at the Shinra logo, frowning faintly. "I don't know what we are, but we're sure as hell not the good guys out to right wrongs in the name of justice."

"But…. Reno…." Elena shook her head. "I'm not arguing. I don't want to. I'm going north." she hurried past the two men, wiping her hand across her eyes and disappearing down the corridor. Reno waited until the sound of her footsteps had disappeared into the distance, and turned to Rude.

"You understand right?" he said, desperately.

"……………………." Rude looked at him for a moment. Reno waited, anxious. Then the heavyset man shook his head once, abruptly, and walked after Elena.

"Aw hell" Reno slumped against the wall. "I seriously hate this…."

"You'll have to forgive them. They haven't been exposed to the same complexity of moral emotion as you have." The quiet sibilant voice came from the stairway. Reno pulled out his electro-mag rod as the door opened, muscles tensing.

Hojo stepped through, entering the corridor. His hand was curled round a three-inch thick chain he was using as a leash. At the end of the chain, a strange feline-canine creature strolled, tail weaving slowly whilst it's yellow eyes flicked from side to side, scanning the surroundings with a cat like awareness. More than a cat though, it seemed to be evaluating and judging as it went.

"Funny hearing you talk about morals." Reno increased his grip on the rod. _I could say I didn't know it was him, that I thought he was an intruder… worse accidents have happened. At most I might get a reprimand. And he'd be dead which'd be a definite plus. Bet it wouldn't take much either._

"People's morals are buttons by which they can be operated like machines." Hojo smiled faintly. "A person without morals is one with free will."

"Yeah, 'til he gets killed by an angry mob," snapped Reno. 

"Yes, something of a problem. However, if you get a group of people without morals you get Shinra." Hojo gave his choked up repressed giggle. "A group with the ability to rule the world. I wonder how smart you are?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Reno's index finger twitched over the button on his electro-mag rod.

"Can't you see the flaw?"

"….."

"Shinra rule the world. None can stand up to them. They need protecting, of course, from the occasional would-be-hero. That's where you come in." Hojo smiled faintly again. "Your brainwashing was a fairly simple procedure to say the least, did nothing to develop my own work. Done solely at the request of the President, Heidegger - and Tseng - "

"Tseng requested it!?"

" - However to de-brainwash you, that was interesting. To somehow repair the super-ego, to check the id. More, to put you back into a place where you can learn to empathise with another, where you can relate your emotions to someone else. I made you a monster and then I made you a man, and I may well turn the results into part of a paper I'm writing."

"Part of a paper? I am not one of your stupid specimens!"

"My hypothesis is that you'll go insane, most probably a form of undifferentiated schizophrenia. I await the outcome with interest. Now… I must go and speak with Rufus. I can assure you that you cannot hurt me, since I have always been my own best specimen. So drop your pathetic little weapon and let me past, Turk."

"……. Fine Hojo. I can believe you'd turn yourself into a monster, you were already most of the way there. But someday you're gonna need a bodyguard and Odin knows I won't be the one to take the post. And when you're dead I'll dance on the pieces." Reno stepped aside and managed a half smirk. "It's not worth my time to attack an impotent scientist who lost his girlfriend to a guy with a gun anyway."

A flicker of green tinted anger flashed across Hojo's eyes. "You'll regret that comment Turk."

"I never regret anything. Now go cosy up with Rufus, kiss his ass 'till he gives you your job back. I have better things to do." Reno slung his rod over his shoulder and went the same way Elena and Rude had gone.

__

Stupid Turk… Hojo hunched his back and pulled the red cat-dog creature along the corridor.

-~-~-~-

Tseng opened his eyes. 

A greyish wooden ceiling, a smell of anti-septic. The clean light that diffused through the room could only be sunlight. He was on a bed, a metal bed with soft clean white sheets. There was some medical equipment around the room. 

"Oh! You're awake!" A female voice. Tseng automatically turned his head towards it, and felt a spasm of pain leech through him.

"Please don't move! You might further damage yourself." The woman walked into view. A dark haired lady in a nurse's uniform. "The wound you've taken - you're lucky it didn't kill you."

"I know. Where am I?"

"You're in Mideel. The Doctor will come in a few minutes, please stay very still until he gets here."

"…" Tseng stayed flat on the bed, feeling ill at ease. He did not like the enforced trust in the Nurses word, but he had no choice. "How long have I been here?"

"You were brought here two days ago." The nurse picked up a clipboard. "I just wanted to check; you've never been in contact with any kind of mako infusion process correct?"

"Correct."

"Hmm, that's what the tests showed. But that wound was so bad; I was surprised you survived to be honest. You must have a very strong constitution."

"Hmm."

"Erm, yes." the nurse flushed. "What's your name please?"

"…Tseng."

"Tseng…….?"

"Just Tseng." 

"Erm, OK. I'll go see if the doctors available yet," the nurse hurried away.

As soon as she had left the room, Tseng started shifting, trying to evaluate the extent of the damage. The pain was a tight hot line that concentrated mainly just below his ribcage, and ran at a slight vertical through him. There was a sharper, tighter knot in his back where the sword had exited.

"Ah, so our friend has awoken at last! You had us all quite worried." The doctor, a thin gangly man dressed in brown under his white coat, entered and smiled pleasantly at Tseng. His grey hair was thinning on top, but his eyes were sharp and clear behind his spectacles. 

"How soon until I can leave?" Tseng had no desire to make conversation.

"Hmmm." The doctor frowned slightly, looking worried. "I just want to make it clear you've survived something that could very easily have killed you. We must be thankful you are still with us at all."

"Just tell me how long until I can leave." Tseng shifted impatiently. He needed to get back to Midgar and report what Sephiroth had said.

"Tell me, do you have close friends, family who might be worried about you right now?"

"Don't sidestep the question." 

The doctor sighed. "Persistent aren't you? Well, let me blunt. You'll be here for a quite a while - there has been massive internal ruptures, but more to the point your spinal cord has been injured. From the nature of the wound I'm assuming you twisted so it avoided penetrating your spine directly, which would have resulted in death or paralysis. However, the sword still managed a glancing blow off one of the vertebrae."

"…" 

"You'll find your motor functions have been severely curtailed. Most people recover some functions between a week and 6 months after the injury - but I sincerely doubt you'll ever return to the level of fitness and dexterity you had before."

"…"

"Do you have any close friends and family who we can contact?" The doctor raised a questioning eyebrow.

__

I'm a Turk. Turk's don't have close friends or family. 

This is insane. I can't go back to Shinra if I can't fight. I'd just be a liability - and Shinra knows how to deal with liabilities. 

I can't fight.

What else can I do?

Where else can I go except to Shinra?

-~-~-~-

A/N: Yay! Finally! This chapter has been a long time in the making, due to me messing up the storyline something chronic. But it's here, it's done, and I'm back on track. I think. I hope. Thanks to reviewers, as always ^_^ 

Next up: Elena goes to Icicle Inn and meets Avalanche, Tseng is forced into a new and difficult situation, and Rude spends some quality time with Hojo. 


	33. Flight to the North

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Thirty-Three: Flight to the North

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

"It's so cold" one Shinra guard groaned as he trudged through the snow.

"Freezing" the second Shinra guard agreed.

"Oh stop complaining." Elena slid slightly on the treacherous surface. "It's just a bit of snow!"

"Yes, but its cold wet and sloppy snow, ma'am" the first guard said, staggering through a large snowdrift with all the agility of a fish on land. "Give me a nice metal or concrete walkway any day…"

"Look! There's Icicle Inn!" Elena pointed across the snowy fields to a small village hidden in the shadows of iron-grey mountain peaks. The solid stone, frozen over in places with ice, extended back and out in a jagged wall that circled away into the misty horizon. 

"Are we lost? I thought we were going to investigate that weird place they found on the photo?" The second guard paused to help the first guard out of the snowdrift.

"We're not lost." Elena looked up at the mountains. "Do we have to go through there?"

"With all that rock and ice?"

"I don't know…" Elena hesitated, and then pulled the photo, now somewhat creased and bent, from her inside jacket pocket. "We're here by Icicle Inn, the weird place is over there… I think we've come the wrong way. This photo shows hardly anything!"

The guards shook their heads in despair and looked wistfully towards the village. 

"Oh alright." Elena sighed. "We'll stop off there for a little while."

The guards cheered and started hurrying up the slope, slipping over in their mad dash to reach the warmth and security of the buildings. Elena rolled her eyes and walked past them as they floundered in the slush and snow. 

__

Honestly… these are the best of the guards? I don't believe it. I bet Reno managed to get me a couple of duds instead.

She reached the top of the slope, and found herself overlooking the centre area of Icicle Inn. It was a picturesque scene, with the sloping road marked with sledging tracks, the old-fashioned looking houses with snowy roofs and warm yellow windows and the occasional evergreen branching out of the whiteness with it's spiky green leaves.

She smiled, thinking it looked like a jigsaw puzzle or postcard, and then she saw the splash of spiky yellow hair.

__

A - Avalanche!? They're here?

She turned hastily to look for the guards and saw them still scrambling through the snowfields. 

"There they are, hurry!" 

"Yes ma'am!"

The guards came up beside her and looked down at the terrorist group stood at the far end of the main road. 

Elena tutted, and started racing down the sloping road, determined to revenge Tseng regardless of what Reno had said. She had expected them to try and escape, but they simply stood and waited. As she drew closer she found herself re-evaluating them and remembering the way Reno and Rude had been forced to flee from their own battle with the terrorists. 

Cloud was waiting; leaning back slightly on one foot, and looking fairly relaxed. He had not bothered to draw his sword.

Beside him stood Tifa, who was pushing a stand of long dark hair back into place whilst keeping a wary eye on Elena as she approached. She too seemed relaxed, but Elena felt a similar aura of awareness around the woman as she had often noticed around Tseng. 

Slightly behind the two of them stood a man Elena was less familiar with. She guessed it was the ex-pilot from Rocket Town, the one who had turned traitor on Shinra right under Rufus's eyes. He was smoking casually and leaning on a tall slender spear. 

"Cloud... " Elena panted as she ran up to them. "I won't let you go any further!" 

The spiky haired warrior shrugged, and Elena couldn't help noticing the hard wiry muscles in his bare arms. She wondered at how heavy the terrorist leader's sword was and how strong the deceptively slender man must be to wield it.

"What's down there?" Cloud pointed down a steep hill cluttered with spiky evergreens. 

"It's a SE-CR-ET." Elena didn't want to tell him about the Great Glacier, the strange things they had noticed on the photo, or the fact she was lost. "It doesn't matter! But you really got guts doin' my boss in like that!" 

"You mean Boss... Tseng? That wasn't us. Sephiroth did it." 

Elena blinked, and then frowned. How gullible did this man think she was? She could hear Reno laughing at her already for even thinking of believing him.

"No! Don't think you can fool me, liar!" 

"I'm not lying... it was Sephiroth." Cloud matched her frown with one of his own.

"Don't try to act innocent. I'll never forget it!!" Elena wondered what she should do next. Killing the three seemed a trickier problem than it had at the top of the road, and besides, when she was actually stood talking to them they seemed less evil murdering terrorists and more like… normal people.

"Oh man…." Cloud scratched his head, frowning at the snowy ground. He seemed vaguely annoyed and impatient as he searched for the words to try and convince her. Elena felt a flicker of doubt and once more heard Reno's mocking laugh. _You actually believed him? Rookie!_

"Looks like talking alone won't cut it. You're going to have to feel some pain!" 

One of the Shinra guards jumped forward and addressed himself to Cloud, "Just you… and me!!"

"No, I can handle him!" Elena said. "There's no way he can avoid my punch." 

"What? Yeah..." The guard stepped back and allowed Elena to confront Cloud herself. She clenched her fist and looked into his impatient face.

__

He's not even slightly upset! Elena shoved all her doubts to the back of her mind and allowed the burning hot anger and misery she had felt before come to the front. _This is for Tseng!_

She swept her fist forward with all of her considerable strength and -

- he moved.

She let out a squeak as she overbalanced on the slippery road and a yelp when she skidded over the edge of the steep hill. Automatically bringing her hands up round her head, she began falling down the slope. Snow whipped around her as she tumbled downward, the spiky tree branches snatching at her as she went.

"Ele... Elena!?" She heard the guards' voices, muffled by the snow piling up around her ears. She let out a wail in answer, and then smashed full speed into a small snowman, causing an explosion of snow and ice. 

"Ohhhh…." she sat up slowly amidst the wreckage of the snowman, and was somewhat startled to find herself being circled by two small round pink things on skis. 

"Ma'am! Are you alright?" The two guards ran up to her, giving wary looks at the two pink animals. After having been attacked by bunny rabbits whilst walking across the snowfields they had developed a tendency to view everything that moved with suspicion. 

"I... I'm ok." Elena looked around her in confusion. "We're on a ski slope…? And what are those things?"

"Um, Moogs or something. My granny used to tell me about them" one guard said, and shrugged embarrassedly as the other guard turned and stared at him. "What?"

"They're strange." Elena shook her head, and snow slid off her hair. "I'm going to call Reno… no, I'm going to call Rufus and tell him Avalanche are heading towards the Great Glacier. Forget the other place for the moment."

-~-~-~-

It wasn't often Hojo felt pressurised. The amoral scientist had looked into the jaws of death, and in many cases had counted the number of teeth. He had walked into Rufus's office knowing that Shinra needed him - that without him the science department would flounder, that his knowledge of the Promised Land was without parallel, and that he was the only one who really knew how to keep all the defence monsters under control.

But Rufus's diamond hard eyes had not left his face since he had entered, and Hojo had the strangest feeling that he was being evaluated and found wanting. 

"… and that, Rufus, is why you must rehire me." The scientist looked slightly to the side of Rufus's face, not meeting his stare directly.

"I must, must I?" Rufus raised a slender hand and leaned his chin on it, still regarding Hojo with merciless blue eyes. 

"Any other course of action would result in the eventual fall of Shinra" the scientist said, piqued.

"Hmmm." Rufus used his other hand to press one of the buttons on his desk. "Turks office? Send Rude up please."

Hojo's eyes glittered green behind his glasses. "You are planning to give me over to the _Turks_?" he spat. "I will tell them nothing of my experiments!"

"Wrong Hojo." Rufus smiled faintly, "I don't like you. And, unlike my father, I don't trust you. So I'm having you watched."

"Watched?" The scientist glared at the young blonde sat coolly behind the desk, but before he could say more Rufus's PHS buzzed.

"Yes?" The President answered it flatly. There was silence as he listened to whatever was being said at the other end, and Rude entered the room at that moment. Rufus pointed towards Hojo, and Rude walked up and stood beside him, towering over the scrawny man by nearly a foot. 

"I see." Rufus spoke at last. "Return to Icicle Inn, I will speak with you again shortly." He clicked the end call button and immediately started a new call. "Heidegger? Get the Highwind here. And tell Scarlet to come up to my office. We're heading north."

-~-~-~-

Tseng felt confused and lost. He had always been able to rely on himself, on his body and his mind. He knew exactly where his limits were, and what he could do. Intense training for as long as he could remember had left him with a feeling of control. He had silently pitied the people who took the "quick-fix" mako infusion process, as the gap between what they expected they could do and what they could actually do was always there, easy to take advantage of.

But now every movement was coupled with pain, and he was physically incapable of moving some muscles. Walking was a task that had taken on the guise of a fantasy; it involved a process he could no longer manage. He hoped with something approaching desperation that he would be able to regain at least that much.

He also disliked the idea of remaining with the doctor. He owed the man a debt that he was no longer capable of repaying. Without his PHS, without his key card, without his gun, without any of the things that had made him a Turk and hence given him power he was truly useless. 

And he had no idea where he could go. The doctor had stated that he was not going to let Tseng leave unless it was in the care of someone who would be able to look after him. Tseng was beginning to regret his anti-social and solitary life. He had already discounted anyone connected with Shinra, knowing that he was going to have to "disappear" as far as they were concerned.

He stared at the wooden ceiling above the bed and a face crossed his mind.

__

Don't be stupid.

Do I have a choice?

I guess not…

-~-~-~-

The Shinra airship, it's soft white and silver mass shining in the harsh lights from the Shinra building below it, hung in the air, swaying slightly in the wind. Too large to land in Midgar, the ladder had instead been dropped to allow Rufus, Heidegger and Scarlet on board. Hojo, closely followed by Rude, were next up the ladder, and then the crew of pilots and guards began a steady trickle. 

The bridge was spacious and Rufus, Scarlet and Heidegger moved towards the front of it gazing out at the scenery. Hojo stalked to one corner, and Rude followed patiently. Hojo shot him a glance from grey eyes flecked with green and started a choked laugh that made Rude tighten his grip on his gun. 

__

This is not going to be a pleasant trip.

-~-~-~-

Elmyra scrubbed the floor energetically, while Marlene imitated her actions next to her. She was feeling fairly happy; the knot of worry caused by the absence of Aeris had lessened somewhat in the last few days. Wherever the flower girl was, Elmyra was certain she was fine, and the clean air and open skies had lifted her spirits in a way that was beyond words. Marlene had been scared and anxious at first, her nights filled with strange dreams, but already she was skipping about cheerfully under blue skies.

There was a knock on her door, and she answered, smiling cheerfully at the man who owned the Kalm Inn.

"Yes?"

"I've got a phone call for you" the man smiled cheerfully back.

Elmyra followed him across the town to the Inn, wondering who could be phoning her. She wondered if it was Aeris and then shook her head. Aeris didn't even know she had left Midgar.

"Hello?" she said awkwardly down the telephone.

"…. Tseng. I have something … difficult to ask you."

-~-~-~-

A/N: Updates … may be sporadic. This is due to life circumstances that I have no control over. I'll do my best, and if I go more than a fortnight without a new chapter you are allowed to kick me ^_^ 

Next up: The Promised Land, Weapons, Meteor and general mayhem! 


	34. Meteor

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Thirty-Four: Meteor

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

The airship flew through the sky, the propellers spinning smoothly and the inside glowing with the persistent green tinge that existed wherever mako lights were used. The lighter-than-air craft swept north, the landscape below flashing past with phenomenal speed. 

Rude stood next to Hojo at the far end of the bridge, wishing he could see more of the outside. He had never been on anything that travelled at this rate and he was rather enjoying himself, though his naturally serious expression never changed.

As the icy mountains of the Great Glacier came into view a tense silence fell over the group. Scarlet chewed her lip thoughtfully as she stared out the window. She was both surprised and dismayed to find Rufus on the verge of succeeding at - something. Who knew what lay past the icy barrier?

Heidegger was stood almost to attention, memories of past glories resounding through his head. There had been a time when Shin-ra had been a glorious thing, a group at the cutting edge of technology, loved for it's improvements in peoples lives, and respected for it's military superiority over Wutai. Much as he denied it to himself Heidegger missed those days, and the thought that something that could restore them lay just over the horizon made him feel twenty years younger.

At the very head of the airship, regarding the speeding landscape with arrogance, Rufus reflected on this; his first true act of leadership not already dictated to him by his late Father's plans and policies. He hoped it would turn out a success, something he could use against those people who insulted and railed against Shinra. Rufus could live with being hated, but he couldn't live with being belittled. 

At the back of the bridge, near the exit, Hojo contemplated the Turk guarding him with narrow eyes. Unbeknownst to any of his contemporaries Hojo had changed in the brief period he had left the company. Jenova cells surged throughout his body, making their marks on everything from his muscle structure to the play of electrons through his brain. He felt vaguely sick, but considered that a small price to pay for the benefits he was sure would result. The scientist was through with feeling threatened by tall men in blue suits.

The mountains disappeared beneath them.

They were flying across a great open space, an enormous circular rocky plain surrounded on all sides by mountains. In the very centre a green whirlwind flowed, mako pumping out of the ground and spinning into a maelstrom, a screaming, barely controlled, outpouring of energy. The Planet was still healing, still bleeding, and the result was a staggering display of power.

"So, I finally found you." Rufus's voice broke across the awed silence. It was a release. Scarlet started laughing unrestrainedly.

"Kyaa haa hah!" she turned to Heidegger, attempting to bring her laughter back under control. "haa.............hah. This is incredible......" 

"This is the Promised Land the President has been searching for!!" Heidegger laughed too. 

"But, I'll be the one who gets it." Rufus studied the mako surge, and smirked. "Sorry, old man."

  
"Heh heh heh….." Hojo's choked laugh was markedly different from those of Heidegger and Scarlet "That land is no one's." 

Rude's hand clenched as the scientist turned a dangerous eye towards Rufus. The President was regarding the man with disdain, and a hint of puzzlement.

"It's where the Reunion will take place...... They will all gather here...…" Hojo paused, well aware that he had just thrown the top ranking officials of Shinra into confusion. "I wonder if I will see...... Sephiroth?" 

"Sephiroth… That would be interesting." Rufus said. "Unless you can warn us of anything dangerous, we shall land. At the centre."

-~-~-~-

"Tell me you love me"

"I love ya baby"

They kissed long, deep and passionately. Reno's hand slid up her back and found the tie at the top of her dress. Deft fingers started to tease it undone, but she pulled away from him, looking into his face with wide shining eyes.

"Do you really?"

"I really do" he assured her with just the barest trace of impatience. 

"Then…. maybe we could… talk?"

-~-~-~-

The airship battled the screaming maelstrom of energy, dipping and weaving through it's currents with consummate skill. Rude watched the green waves smash around them with a certain amount of nervousness. The undisguised rage and power of the storm made him almost believe in the primitive beliefs in the Planet as a living thing, giving - and taking - life at whim. But science had explained all that away hadn't it? Rude turned his head and looked at the representative of science stood next to him and shuddered inwardly. 

And then the Highwind broke free, sailing into clear skies. Below them was a spiky outcropping of twisted rock, and the airship glided gently downwards, circled round and landed softly amongst the misshapen landscape.

"Scarlet, Hojo, come with me." Rufus rapped out his orders quickly. "Heidegger, Rude, you remain here with the guards."

"Kya ha ha!" Scarlet laughed and strode toward the door, high clicks ringing sharply against the metal floor. Rufus frowned, and moved after her. Hojo gave Rude a look and smiled faintly. 

"Interesting place …. " he said before shuffling after them.

-~-~-~-

"Talk?" 

"I… It's just that…" The woman turned her head, a few dark blonde strands falling across her cheek. "You only ever come to see me once in a blue moon… and when you do all we ever do is… you know."

"I'm a busy guy Krys. I see you as often as I can." Reno watched his evening's plans disappear into nothing.

"I know, I know. I just want to know more about you. What do you do that keeps you so busy? Where do you live? What do you like to read? What kind of movies do you like? We've been seeing each other for nearly a year and you've never told me these things!"

"Krys… Can't we talk another time?"

"When? In two months when you find time enough to drop by again? You say you love me but - "

-~-~-~-

Rude stood by the main window of the Highwind and stared at the entrance to the cave that Rufus, Scarlet and Hojo had entered. It was a stunted, ugly thing; misshapen, bruised looking rock twisted into shapes that hurt the eye. 

"Gya ha ha ha! I wonder what they found?" Heidegger stared at the same stretch of land, drumming his fingers against the window edge.

"…."

"I'll take it from here. Give me the... Black Materia." 

"Are you all right, Cloud? …. Then... here you go. I was a little apprehensive holding this thing." 

"You know Rude… You're a trustworthy person. Gya ha ha!"

"…….?"

"Unlike some slimy skunks - stirring up thoughts of mutiny, incensing the guards. You know who I'm talking about? Gya ha ha!"

__

"Everyone, thanks for everything. And... I'm sorry." 

"……."

"Scarlet! She thinks I don't know. Haven't noticed the way she starts little rumours going. Leaks classified information. The army's a ticking time bomb. Gyaa ha ha ha ha"

"……. Does Rufus know?"

"No proof."

"….."

__

"Sephiroth? Sephiroth? I'm here. And I have brought you the Black Materia."   


"Rude… keep a bit of an eye on her. Gya ha ha. Try and find something we can use against her. Understand?"

"….. yes… sir."

-~-~-~-

__

Spinning, falling inexorably upwards. Approaching the final destination, holding a small round black orb that was the end of everything.

-~-~-~-

"Why do we need to know everything about each other anyway? Frankly I prefer having a - a - a mysterious passion. Yeah." Reno gestured angrily. "Everyone wants facts and figures, wants to keep tabs, wants to know everything, wants to judge and compare and suspect! What about mystery? What about romance? What about passion?"

"Reno…"

-~-~-~-

__

Holding out his hand, clasped tightly around his gift.

-~-~-~-

Rufus marched swiftly back towards the Highwind, followed by Hojo and Avalanche. Barret was pulling Tifa along, trying to stop her from running back to Cloud. For once hatred was swept away by their joint fear of what was about to happen.

-~-~-~-

__

The Black Materia floating free of his grasp, sliding gently through the mako towards the one who could wield it.

A crackle of energy, shooting straight up, through the cave, past the swirling maelstrom of the Planet's energy. Punching it's way through the atmosphere and into space. It called. 

They came; debris, star dust, tiny threads of matter that had wandered through space for aeons. They turned aside from their paths, defied the pull of distant planets and followed the call of the Black Materia. At the top of the beam a rock began to form, became larger, heavier, denser. 

Meteor was coming.

__

And the planet screamed.

-~-~-~-

The materia cave was the first casualty, falling downwards into the northern crater, a millennia of the Planet's healing powers vanished in a flash. Released from their bondage, the parts of Weapon clawed their way free, massive monsters whose only goal was to start replenishing the Planet with mako.

The Highwind was the second to be hit, caught in an energy beam from Weapon that tore into it's hull and sent it flying wildly off course. As the pilots battled to pull away from the scene of carnage Tifa collapsed to the deck of the ship.

The ripples of the Planet's rage spread onwards. The ground twisted and churned, torn into strange shapes by the fury. Avalanches roared down mountains, smashing through the peaks. Gales howled, whipping the seas into massive storms that shrieked and sobbed. 

The Planet screamed.

-~-~-~-

"AHHHHHHHH!" Reno yelled as everything collapsed around him. "What the fuck's happening!?"

"Help!" screamed Krys as she was thrown bodily across the room by an uprising floor and the plaster fell from the ceiling. 

"Everything's falling down!" Reno clutched hold of the door frame as the floor tilted crazily. "Is it an earthquake!?"

"I knew I should never have moved here! I knew I should have stayed in the slums! Ahhh!" The windows shattered around the woman as she fell against them and she disappeared screaming from Reno's sight.

"Shit!"

-~-~-~-

Rude forced his way onto the deck of the Highwind, battling against the winds and the panicking guards, and dropped down next to Tifa where she was sprawled ungainly against the deck. Barret was on the other side and as the ship pitched wildly across the sky they both grabbed hold of her to stop her sliding away. 

"@^%$&!!" Cid shouted "I'll get the damn thing back on course!" He ran for the exit, whacking the guards that tried to intercept him out of the way with the butt of his spear.

"Is she alive!?" Rude yelled across the sound of the wind screaming past.

"What's it to you Turk!?" Barret yelled back.

"Answer me!" 

"She's alive, no thanks to you foo's!" 

"Thank Odin!"

"What!?"

-~-~-~-

Reeve had already been under the table when the wave hit Midgar. After he was certain it had passed he crawled out from under the table and stared at the wreckage of his models, his architectural plans, his circuits and his computers. He found himself feeling strangely liberated.

"Sir!" The guard that came running in had lost his helmet and was wide eyed with shock. "Are you alright sir!?"

"Yes… yes…"

"What happened? Everything's collapsed!"

"Surface damage only." Reeve looked at the ceiling, admiring the new holes that had appeared in it. "If it had been anything more the pillars would have gone and we'd all be dead."

"Uh… be thankful for small mercies you mean sir?"

"Something like that perhaps…" 

-~-~-~-

"Bloody hell" Reno groaned from the doorway as he surveyed the wreck of the apartment. The shattered windows were the thing that drew his eyes, the jagged shards outlining the hole through which Krys had fell.

"I hate apartment blocks. I hate _high_ apartment blocks." Moving carefully across the floor he looked through the hole, down towards the ground and flinched. "Ouch…."

Then he became aware of a deep red light that suffused everything, combating with the shallow green mako lights across the city. He looked up.

"Oh…. Damn"

-~-~-~-

As Cid wrestled the Highwind back on course, Rude stood up, feeling strangely foolish. Barret was glowering at him with suspicion, and Rufus had shot him a strange glance before hurrying back into the main ship to take command. As Rude looked down at Tifa's prone body he shook his head.

__

I shouldn't care.

I mustn't care.

I have to walk away.

I need to walk away.

-~-~-~-

A/N: Fun chapter ^_^ Hope you liked it.

Next up: Tseng heads up to Elmyra's and Rude tries to deal with his feelings about Tifa, with Barret's "help". 


	35. The Turks Will Be the First to Die!

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Thirty-Five: The Turks Will Be the First to Die!

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Tapatapatapatap tap tap tapa tap.

Joanna stared at the ceiling, trying not to frown. 

Tap tap taptaptap tapatapa pa pa tap.

Her fist clenched, knuckles going white.

Tap tap tap tapataptaptapa te te tep tap tap.

"Would you _please_ stop that awful _tapping_!" her voice came out from between her gritted teeth, choked with restrained anger.

"What?" The man looked up blankly from where he had been drumming his fingers against the metal wall of the cell. "Oh, sure…."

They had been in the cell together for nearly a week and Joanna thought she might go crazy. When he wasn't tapping he was humming. When he wasn't humming he was scratching his chin stubble. When he wasn't scratching he was hammering out messages in code to the guards in the cells either side, despite the fact it was perfectly possible to talk to one another normally.

She blamed Rude completely. 

Outside the cell there was the familiar and muted sound of a new guard coming to relieve the old one from his post. A brief, unintelligible conversation, a clunk as the keys to the cells were handed over. Joanna sighed.

__

Every hour. Every stupid hour of every stupid day I get that same noise.

__

I'm going to kill Rude for this.

There were footsteps as the old guard walked away, and then to Joanna's surprise the new guard came over to the cells and looked in at the ex-guards who had attacked Reno and been jailed for an indeterminate length of time.

"Guys." he spoke softly, as if afraid of being overhead. "I'm bringing you news of the revolution!"

"Revolution?" The four ex-guards came to the doors of their separate cells.

"Against Rufus and the new order! Scarlet is slipping us advanced weapons already, but we must proceed cautiously, finding out who is loyal to Rufus." The guard looked from cell to cell, and even with his face hidden by his mask you could sense his excitement. "But once the day comes the Shinra Guards will rise up against the oppressor and the corridors will run red with his blood!"

"And the Turks…?"

"Will be the second to die!"

"What do you want us to do?"

"Here." The guard opened each cell door and slid a small package in. "I'll drop off more equipment each time I'm on duty here, all you have to do is hide it until the day of the revolution!"

"Hey!" Joanna sat up on the bed and looked at the cell door. "I want to join _too_, if it means I can make Rude _pay_!"

-~-~-~-

Junon was wrapped in storm clouds when the Highwind came into land. The winds battered at it, but it held it's course and landed neatly.

"Tifa!" Barret leaned over his friend anxiously. "Snap outta it girl!"

"…….. Barret." Rude looked around the bridge quickly. It had emptied of both Avalanche and Shinra, Odin only knew what kind of chaos was happening elsewhere. "…… Bring her."

"Who do ya think yer givin' orders to huh?"

"………." Rude turned a blank gaze towards the muscular black man leant over the prone body of Tifa. "……. do you want to help her?"

Barret narrowed his eyes at the Turk. "Any tricks ya hear, any tricks and I'll blow ya away so @#* fast ya won't have time to scream!"

"………..I don't scream"

-~-~-~-

Tseng leant on his crutches and stared into the sky. The sky was a wide open expanse of blue, pale clouds scudded gently along. 

Burning against the blue skies sat a red hot sphere, it's movement was imperceptible to the human eye, yet he knew it was moving incredibly fast. Flaming across the huge cold distances of space, ready to smash into the Planet. 

A memory of the final panel from the Temple of the Ancients. Burning destruction, people screaming. 

"What could it be?" the Nurse shook her head in puzzlement. "Do you think it's dangerous?"

"…"

"Well, I guess someone will sort it out." The Nurse shrugged, it wasn't her responsibility. "Are you sure you'll be ok…? Tommy said he'll do more than row you over to the Midgar continent if you need it…"

"I'm fine."

"Okay, if you're sure. Good luck."

"It can't get much worse at any rate." Tseng started his slow, painful journey towards Kalm. 

-~-~-~-

The rain was battering against the windows of the Junon hospital room, and Rude pulled the shutters closed. Barret carried Tifa's unconscious body to the angular metal table at the centre of the room, pushing a mirrored lamp away from it with his foot.

"Look like a dentists." he grunted as he laid her down.

"……"

"Hmph. 'spose yer gonna try and put me under arrest or summat now."

"………….no." Rude stared at the shutters and tried to sort out his thoughts. 

"No? What's up wit yer foo'? Yer mooning around like you was in love!" 

Rude jerked. "In lo - …….."

"%^*&@#!" Barret flexed his shoulders and glowered at the Turk. "Ya stupid Shinra Turk! Yer outta yer stupid blue-suited mind! She hates everthin' ta do wit you! 'sides, she's interested in someone else!"

"……………" Rude studied the shutter, noting that one of the flaps had come slightly loose and a tiny kink of stormy grey light was showing through.

"You listenin' ta me!?" 

"……yes….."

There was a sudden beeping from Rude's PHS and he answered it slowly.

"Rude." Rufus's voice was tight. "Where are you?"

"Hospital….."

"Didn't I tell you to watch Hojo?"

"…….."

"And are you aware that all of Avalanche has escaped us, again?"

"……..not all……."

"Not all?"

Rude turned his head and looked at Barret. 

"No." he said deliberately. "I have two under arrest in the hospital….."

Barret glowered, his massive arms tensing as he cocked his gun arm. "&*@#~ Turk!"

Rude clicked the PHS off and looked at Barret.

"………….You're right………….." he said "I was a fool…….. All I can do is my job."

"Yer job! Nobody has ta do anything that col' hearted bastard tells 'em too! Why do it? Quit already - looking' out fer Hojo can't be that much fun!"

"….. it's better than some things…. " Rude shook his head. "….. once….. I was going to quit…. Helped her escape….. But….." he paused and stared into the distance. "…… things happened….."

"So #&%"£~ what?" 

"………………………….. never mind." Rude frowned and walked towards the door. "I don't hate you….. But you hate me…. And so does Tifa…….."

-~-~-~-

Reno ran towards the Shinra HQ, swearing under his breath.

__

All I want is a little fun! Is that too much to ask? But no, first the girl decides she wants to "talk", and then the world has to decide to end. Someone damn well better be responsible for this so I can beat their brains out with a brick!

He rounded a corner and stopped in dismay. The front of the Shinra building was packed with shrieking people, their questions and demands riding the air as they pushed at the line of Shinra guards stood in front of the door.

"We pay our taxes and this kind of thing is allowed to happen?" a man yelled from the crowd.

"Total security you promised us!"

"We want to hear from Rufus!"

"I'm an upstanding citizen of the community and I want to be listened to!"

"Why is this even happening!?"

__

Bloody hell… Reno leant against the wall and sighed. _Everything's always our responsibility isn't it?_

He watched the crowd for a few more minutes but they clearly had no intention of shifting. Taking out his electro-mag rod he smirked to himself. _I always wanted to try my hand at crowd control._

-~-~-~-

Elena sat with her head on her arms and looked out the window at the freak snowstorm that had blown up, effectively cutting off all exits and communication lines. She felt completely and utterly useless.

-~-~-~-

Tseng climbed with difficulty out of the boat. The sun beat down on him, it's light still brighter than that of Meteor. He wondered how long that would last, but pushed the thought from his mind.

"You sure you'll be okay from here?" the man who had rowed him looked as helpful as he could and Tseng felt a flicker of anger. He hated dependence, he hated owing people, he hated the twisting stabbing pains that still lanced through him giving the lie to what he had told the doctor. 

"I'll be fine." he said grimly.

The man shrugged. "Come back and visit sometime you hear? Bye!" and he pulled the boat away from the beach with long even strokes with the oars.

-~-~-~-

Evening was drawing in when Elmyra heard the knock at the door. She pulled her skirt down nervously. She had been unable to turn down the Turk's request, especially after he had freed her from the Midgar slums, but he still brought shadows of fear into her mind when she remembered the way he had kidnapped Aeris at gunpoint.

Marlene let out a little squeak and hid behind an armchair. She was even more fearful of the 'sometimes evil man' than Elmyra was and calming her down had taken up the better part of the day. Elmyra pulled at her skirt again and hurried to answer the door.

She was stunned when she saw him. There were shadows of pain in his face, tracing lines around his eyes and tightening his skin. The air of easy, athletic confidence was gone, instead he was hunched and twisted over two crutches on which he leant heavily. The neat blue suit had been replaced with what must have been second hand gifts, ill fitting and badly matched.

"Tseng…."

He half shrugged, a different kind of pain becoming apparent in his eyes. "Pathetic, I know."

"I… You'd better come in."

He entered slowly, walking was difficult. She thought of the distance he had come and hastily indicated a chair before disappearing into the kitchen.

Marlene bent her head and peered through the narrow gap between the bottom of the chair and the floor. She could see Tseng's feet and the bottom of his crutches as he moved across the room and lowered himself into the opposite chair with a sigh. She frowned to herself as Elmyra returned from the kitchen and bent down, probably serving tea or coffee or something similar.

"Strange weather we've been having recently" Elmyra's voice was clipped and bright. 

"…. yes."

Marlene stuck her tongue out at Tseng's feet and then jumped up and caught hold of the top of the chair, pulling herself up so her head stuck over the edge.

"Is it because of that thing in the sky?" she said loudly.

"Marlene!" Elmyra jumped, spilling her tea into the saucer. "Really …. "

"More than likely." Tseng turned his head to Marlene. "Meteor will disrupt a lot of the Planet's normal cycles, I imagine, including the weather."

"Did you make it?" Marlene pressed on.

"I…. Am not sure whether I helped or hindered it. I may have been completely irrelevant." Tseng said evenly. 

"Did Shinra make it?" Marlene screwed up her nose at the word Shinra.

"…….. Well, they made Sephiroth so I suppose they made Meteor." Tseng frowned briefly. "Although Meteor has been possible since the time of the Ancients."

"Then it's your fault." Marlene said immediately. "If Shinra helped make Meteor and you helped Shinra you helped make Meteor so it's your fault!" and she slipped back down behind the chair.

"You've learned a lot from Barret haven't you?" Tseng said to the space where Marlene had been.

"Oh dear…" Elmyra sighed.

-~-~-~-

Rude found Hojo looking out to sea. This bothered him slightly, as he felt Hojo shouldn't be an outdoors kind of person. He took up position behind him, wondering.

"Did you see him?" Hojo's whispering voice was barely audible above the wind, and Rude leaned closer to hear. "A monster…. Never a man. He didn't see me…."

Rude blinked, trying to work out what the last sentence could mean. The rain was covering his sunglasses and making it difficult to see.

"That wife stealing monster! He's out!" Hojo leant into the wind, and his hands clenched around the safety bar. "He was meant to rot away in darkness, slowly killing himself, going insane! But he's out!"

Rude took a step back. The scientists voice had reached a crazed pitch, fighting against the wind for dominance.

"How dare he fight against me! Me, the man he should be on his knees begging forgiveness from! He should be crawling through the dirt, a worm, a tiny insignificant piece of spittle, and instead he defies me!" Hojo spun and walked slowly towards Rude, who backed away, noticing with some alarm that his eyes seemed to have gone almost completely dark and that his skin had started to move and stretch unpleasantly. "I hate Turks… you're all so arrogant! Think you can have whatever you want, take whoever you want…. Well you'll all pay!"

"….. sir….."

"He's _my_ son! And he'll show you all!" Hojo broke down in a sudden fit of crazed laughter, falling back against the safety rail as the rain lashed around the two, catching his breath just enough to say "You Turks will be the first to die!" before breaking down again.

"…………" Rude started to call through to Rufus, before something caught his eye through the rain. A shape, far out in the ocean but so large it was visible from where he was standing. A dark silhouetted monster of a shape.

"………Weapon…."

-~-~-~-

A/N: I'm not going to tell you what's coming next anymore, mostly because I know basically what's going to happen but have no idea what kind of order it's going to go in ^_^ Plot lines start to come together now though. 

Thanks for the reviews, as ever!


	36. Black and White

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Thirty-Six: Black and White

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Reno discovered Reeve in his office, sitting on the floor with crossed legs and going patiently through scattered paper; shuffling it back into order.

"Reeve! What d'you think your doing?" Reno yelled, "Have you _seen_ that thing in the sky? Has Rufus called? I bet the idiot's got himself killed - "

"They're all in Junon." Reeve said mildly, picking up two sheets of blueprints and studying them with a frown. "Busy with a few things I believe…"

"Busy!? People are panicking Reeve, we're gonna have riots unless we have answers! What the hell is he doing in Junon?"

Reeve looked up with some surprise. "Riots?"

"Yeah, things have been restless for a while now, and this lump of rock isn't going to help any! And with Heidegger and Scarlet gone we can't make full use of the army.. And both Rude and Elena have done runners! Leaving me to deal with the bloody riots I've no doubt."

Footsteps echoed down the corridor, Reno turned round in the doorway to see a short guard, who saluted and said smartly;

"Sir! Civic disturbances have been reported in sector's two, three and six."

  
Reno swung back to Reeve angrily. "See! Rufus needs to make a broadcast or something - this is just gonna spread otherwise! And Odin knows what the slummers are gonna think of it all - "

He cut himself off as the lights suddenly flickered and went dim. The noise of the reactors, which both Reno and Reeve had long since reduced to subliminal levels, suddenly increased; a steady machine driven roar that echoed round the city. 

"What now….?" Reno crossed the room and looked out the window, quickly joined by Reeve and the guard. Looking towards the nearest reactor they saw a sharp, impossibly bright halo of green power around it, lengthening into a spike that zoomed upwards and inwards, joining up with similar streams of light from the other reactors somewhere directly above the Shinra HQ. 

They all looked up.

"What the hell is that!?" Reno gaped at the massive flying black monster with a metallic sheen glittering along it's hide and reflecting the surge of mako light it was absorbing.

-~-~-~-

Rufus turned from the ocean view, a faint frown marring his smooth pale brow. 

"Weapon must be fought," he said calmly to Heidegger and Scarlet. "Get the canon ready."

"The canon? But it hasn't been fired since the war with Wutai - we signed a treaty saying we wouldn't use it unless we got involved in another war! Kya-ha-ha!" Scarlet laughed nervously.

"Get it ready." Rufus turned back in time to see Weapon disappear beneath the moonlit water in a great spray of foam. "It's about time we started treating this seriously - like a war."

-~-~-~-

The citizens of Midgar poured out of their buildings in their thousands, shouting to each other and pointing up to the huge black shadow in the sky, who ignored them utterly whilst sucking up the mako. The reactors, unable to cope with the strain, began to whine; a horrible high pitched shriek that rebounded off the tall buildings and vibrated through the streets. 

Reno swore and ran out the door, leaving Reeve and the guard staring blankly at the sky. Racing up the stairs and out onto the roof he stood directly below Weapon and cupped his hands round his mouth.

"Get the %@#!& hell away from this city! "

Weapon flicked one mighty black claw, the wave of mako energy stopped abruptly and the reactors cut out. Then it slowly lowered it's head and fixed two boiling red eyes on Reno.

"Uh….." Reno blinked as he contemplated the size of the creature looking down on him with an expression of studied hate. "You know… on second thought…"

Weapon let out a great roar and the roof of the Shinra building began to shake violently. Reno staggered backwards, and then fell over, unable to keep his balance on the vibrating floor. The weapon floated down towards him, metallic muscles rippling. 

"A'right ya stupid black whatever you are! You don't wanna play nice, then neither do I!" Reno jumped to his feet and cast Neo-Turk Light at Weapon, who shuddered as the electricity smashed into it. Twisting in mid-air, it responded with a searing beam of light that went straight at Reno and sent him flying against the door leading back into the building. Grabbing it for support he muttered a few curse words under his breath.

"So much for the introductions…" Reno cast Pyramid up at the monster, though without much hope. Sure enough the glittering yellow triangle failed to enclose the massive form; stretching out into a gentle shimmer before fading into nothing.

Weapon responded with a long swipe, it's claw catching Reno across the chest and sending him flying again. Reno slid along the roof of the building and fetched up against the safety rail with a crunch. His shirt and chest torn into bloody tatters, he swore again. "Where's Rude when ya really need him?"

Weapon roared, sensing victory. Raising itself further into the sky it sucked in a breath, preparing for a final, devastating attack.

Reno pulled himself up onto one elbow and smirked to himself. _All or nothing I guess… Man I hate relying on materia…_

"Confuse!"

The spell whirled, a multi-coloured tornado of images that smacked Weapon right between the eyes. It staggered backwards and upwards, it's focus broken, the attack fizzling out. It shook it's head once, twice, red eyes clouding over.

Then, with a roar of confusion, it rose into the air and sped away, still shaking it's head.

"Coward!" Reno yelled after it "Sissy! Chicken! Can't handle a little spell or two huh? Call yourself a - whatever you call yourself!"

"Reno?" Reeve poked his head anxiously round the door. "Are you alright?" 

"I'm fine." Reno said, grinning. "Did you see the way I kicked that things ass? This deserves a drink or three - "

"Are you sure?" Reeve looked at the blood running in rivulets and pooling around the seated Turk. 

"Hmm?" Reno looked down, and blinked. "Oh crap… I am so not going to hospital _again_." 

"I have an elixir…"

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you?"

"I don't think you have, actually." Reeve took out the elixir and poured it over the redhead. "What was that thing?"

"Some big metal monster thingamajig. Nothing important." Reno bounced up cheerfully. "I'm sure I deserve a bonus for th - "

He was interrupted by the sudden unmistakable roar of an angry crowd echoing up from the street below. The riots - inflamed by the sight of weapon and the strange behaviour of the mako reactors - had arrived at the doors of Shinra. Reno leaned over the edge of the safety rail and looked at the enormous throng of people gathered below. Behind him, Reeve gulped.

"What… what are we going to do?"

"You tell me - you're meant to be in charge around here." Reno said, with a certain sarcasm.

"I'm not in charge! I was never meant to be in charge! I build things!"

A Shinra guard ran onto the roof and addressed himself to Reeve. "Sir! We're having difficulty in holding the perimeter, sir!"

"Ho - holding the perimeter?" Reeve looked at the guard, quivering at attention, and then at Reno, leaning casually against the rail with a smirk on his face.

"Maybe… maybe we should try reasoning with them…"

-~-~-~-

Elena watched the two guards push on the snowbound door, tapping her foot impatiently. All she wanted was to get out and return to Midgar. The knowledge that Reno now had the ability to fire her was adding to her desperate desire to prove herself an adequate Turk. Getting snowed in at Icicle Inn did not seem a professional thing to do, and she was taking out her frustration on the hapless guards.

"Oh for Shiva's sake! Get out the way and let me do it!" she snapped, as the door failed to budge. The guards moved aside silently, and she stepped up to the door, preparing to let loose all her strength on it's wooden surface. 

Crunch!

The door smacked outwards, wedging itself half-open, and freezing air blew into the room. Elena shivered and pulled her jacket around her. 

"Come on!" she scrambled through the gap, climbing up the heaped snow and found herself sinking waist deep into it. The guards followed, squeezing themselves through the narrow space with difficulty. For a moment all three floundered helplessly, caught in a quagmire of sinking snow, but then Elena struck out in a near swimming motion and started to force her way south.

-~-~-~-

"People of Midgar!" a thousand televisions flickered on, the forced broadcast sounding out across the city. Reeve's face, looking absolutely terrified, flashed up. "Please … remain calm! We are not in any danger, there is no crisis."

"Whose that?" A few people turned to look at the screens, stopping their noisy attack of the Shinra HQ. Relative silence descended on the crowd, as they stared in puzzlement at the brown eyed man with the worried expression. 

"Rufus is not here presently, he is in Junon." Reeve continued. There was an angry rumble from the crowd at his words. "However I, and the rest of the Shinra employee's remaining here, are doing our best in difficult circumstances. We have already fought off the creature you saw earlier, and are now proceeding to damage assessment and rebuilding. The earthquakes and the meteor are not to be blamed on Shinra. They are the result of the work of…" Reeve faltered, hating what he was about to say. "the work of… madmen, terrorists, people working against Shinra and against us all."

"This is Avalanche's fault!" someone in the crowd yelled furiously.

"Yeah well, Shinra was meant to protect us from them assholes ages ago!" someone else yelled back.

"Avalanche are our saviours, they're not assholes!" a third person joined in.

"They dropped the #&*@ plate and killed millions of people you idiot! They're not our saviours!"

"That wasn't Avalanche! That was Shinra!"

"That's just a rumour!"

"A rumour with a hell of a lot of truth if you ask me!"

"Nobody did ask you, bastard!"

"C'mere here and say that!"

Voices rose and overwhelmed each other, and with a predatory scream the crowd turned on itself. Violence that had been directed toward Shinra became a confused crashing storm of insults and internal arguments that swept the crowd away down side streets, into separate knots of fighting, gesticulating men and women all shouting to make their point.

"The old divide and conquer trick eh?" Reno said, watching the street view being shown on the CCTV screen in the President's office where he was stood with a sweating Reeve.

"That… that wasn't what I wanted," groaned Reeve, watching an old woman batter a young man with her handbag whilst screaming obscenities about Avalanche. "Why can't people just be peaceful about things?"

Reno shrugged. "They'll all drift off home after they get tired off tearing each other to shreds."

Reeve continued to look doleful. "I've just started a whole new set of vendettas and grudges… people breaking up ancient friendships, and beating up potential ones… This will turn into yet another viscous circle of hate and anger, pro-Avalanche versus anti-Avalanche."

"As long as it's not anti-Shinra, frankly that's all I care about right now." Reno said, pulling absently at a tattered strip of his shirt. "I need a drink."

"Someone gets shot, they blow us up, we drop a plate…" Reeve said slowly, not listening to Reno. "Every time it's worse and less forgivable than the time before. What happens next? Does the world have to end before we realise we should have just lived and let live? Do we have to get bogged down in pointless feuds like this? Nobody is really evil! Everyone has a human side, a reason, a justification, everyone believes they're in the right! Why can't we - "

"Sephiroth is evil." Reno interrupted.

"Go ask him if he thinks he's evil! He probably thinks he's the good guy! He has reasons! Justifications!"

"I thought he was just plain psycho myself." 

"No offence but a lot of people think you Turks are 'plain psycho's' too" Reeve retorted. "Nothing seems to be black and white anymore - "

"Look, Reeve, there's never been any black and white. There's just people. Of course everyone has a reason. No one wakes up and thinks; I'm gonna be really evil today! It just sort of turns out that way! You just do the things you do and that's it. There's no morality, no right and wrong, just rules we make up for our own benefit. Alright?"

"…. it's too complicated. I want there to be right and wrong." Reeve said, defeated.

"Well tough. There isn't." Reno said, still smarting from the psycho comment. "People get born, they do stuff, they die, they turn into a tree. Not complicated."

"Then why do we feel guilty?"

"Guilt is for wusses." Reno said firmly.

__

"People's morals are buttons by which they can be operated like machines." Hojo smiled faintly. "A person without morals is one with free will."

"Yeah, 'til he gets killed by an angry mob," snapped Reno. 

"Yes, something of a problem. However, if you get a group of people without morals you get Shinra." Hojo gave his choked up repressed giggle. "A group with the ability to rule the world…."

"…….." Reno turned his head away from Reeve sharply. "Scratch that last comment."

Reeve looked up at the suddenly defensive Turk. 

"Look, I've got better things to do than hang around here discussing right and wrong." Reno snapped. "I'm gonna get a drink."

Reeve watched the Turk, hastily leaving the room, with a puzzled frown. Then he shook his head and put his hand in the pocket, feeling the tiny control device there.

__

Alright Cait… time to do what's right.

-~-~-~-

Hojo paced. Rude watched. There was a feverish glitter in the scientists eyes, a jerky, possessed movement to the way he walked. He muttered things under his breath, barely caught hints of violence, death and depravity - but Rude watched with the blankness of a man whose thoughts were in another realm.

He was thinking of a woman, a woman with dark hair that moved like liquid when she walked. A woman with pale skin, and wide, wine coloured eyes. A woman that worked amongst alcohol fumes and cigarette smoke and added an altogether more exotic smell to them. A woman of beauty, patience, and gentleness.

A woman he loved.

A woman he had sentenced to death for a second time.

Behind the sunglasses his eyes had closed, behind the cold quiet façade his pulse raced and his skin burned. 

"We'll start with this girl." Scarlet's harsh voice came through the speakers. The television screens were blank, only the sound came through. Rude had no desire to watch this execution, but the same sense of duty that had kept him watching the Sector Seven massacre kept him listening to the voices.

"If you've gotta do it... do me first!" Barret's voice, torn with anger, grief, desperate to save the life of his friend, if only for a few moments. Rude felt shame spill through his brain like a drug.

"Camera, this way! Make sure you get this, the audience just eats up tearful goodbyes!" Scarlet's voice again, confident, followed by the squeak of the metal door opening and Tifa being forced inside. Silence for a few moments, only the underlying static sound of the TV. And then the door crashed shut again, the noise reverberating around Rude's skull. 

__

Let it be quick… Don't let her suffer…

"Well now, the show's about to begin. Ha, ha, ha!" Scarlet's unmelodious laugh.

And everything went red and a siren started to sound.

Rude opened his eyes, to discover the alarm lights lit up all along one wall. Hojo had paused in his pacing, and was watching him instead.

"Emergency! Emergency!" the intercom crackled into life, the voice sounding over the siren. "Weapon's approaching! Attention all military personnel: take your positions!" 

"Interesting…" murmured Hojo. "I suppose you'll be aiding in the defence?"

"……." Rude reached up to the intercom and switched it off. "…. my job is to watch you."

__

And besides, I have to know exactly when. The agony of knowing is better than the agony of not.

The initial sounds from the execution room trickled back in.

"How does it feel now, Scarlet?" A chirpy, high-pitched voice. One of the reporters perhaps.

"Hmm, so you didn't run? I'm impressed. How do I feel? Right now......" 

A hiss.

"Nngaaaaaahhhh!" 

Barret's low voice in sharp contrast to that of the reporter. "Huh!? Sleeping gas?"

"Weirdo!!" Guards voices, Rude knew by the immediate follow up of machine gun fire. Crash, thump, more gunfire and then the reporters voice again;

"I'm here to help!" 

"Why you......? Ain't you part of Shinra?" Barret, sounding confused. Rude frowned; no reporters were part of Shinra as far as he knew.

"Let's just say I'm against capital punishment. Besides... I hate this broad. Come on, we gotta help Tifa." The reporter-Shinra employee-traitor spoke quickly. "I'll keep watch at the entrance." 

Rude clicked the TV sound off as well, the wash of shame fading. Tifa wasn't going to die, Avalanche was going to rescue her, everything was going to be fine.

Except… just who was the Shinra traitor?

-~-~-~-

A/N: Sorry for the wait ^^;; This chapter got rewritten about 6 times, plus I was in a different country to my computer for a week. Hopefully this final version will suffice ^_~

  


__


	37. The Beginning of the End

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Beginning of the End

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

The bottle slipped from between his fingers as he slid into sleep, it's solid form hitting the ground and rolling in a semi-circle; leaving a glittering trail of brown fluid behind it.

Red hair frayed out across the pillow as he twisted in his sleep, his legs entangling with the sheet. Green light filtered in through the window; shining across his pale skin.

__

The train carriage was nearly full. A woman with a five year old son who kept squirming and kicking. An elderly man reading a newspaper, trying to ignore the fidgeting child beside him. A Shinra employee doing his daily commute, looking at his watch in impatience. The man that slept on the train, treating it like his home. A young couple, giggling and cooing at each other. A nine year old boy sat rigid in his seat, clearly on his first train trip by himself. A woman with her head in her hands, perhaps having been rejected from the Shinra army.

They sat in relative silence, the tunnel lights flashing past their window.

A muffled boom echoed through the train, the five year old jumped excitedly and exclaimed. The old man rustled his newspaper, annoyed.

A crunching noise. The Shinra employee looked out the window and blinked. The tunnel was peeling away, cracking and opening. For a moment he looked out over Sector Seven, seeing the slums from above. Then the tracks tore loose.

The train started to plummet downwards. The people screamed as they fell to the front of the carriage; the mother clutching her son desperately, trying to shield him within herself. The old man shouting out questions, what is happening, what is going on. The couple clutched each other, screaming, as pieces of metal and concrete and bodies fell past the window.

The depressed woman lunged for the door, trying to pull it open. There was a sound of screeching metal, and the front of the carriage smashed open, tearing itself to pieces on a jagged spike of broken plate. The nine year old boy was ripped apart with it, the spike slicing up through him in a spray of blood. The rest fell out the front of the train, becoming part of the tumbling debris. The newspaper spilled it's pages into the air as the old man plummeted towards the ground. The depressed woman hit a lump of falling concrete and was dead instantly, staining it red. The mother lost her grip on her son and screamed in horror as he whirled away into the destruction.

Her voice merged with that of the employee as his arm was torn off by the wreckage of the broken track. Screams, lost in the solid roar of the falling plate. 

He clawed at the pillow, the screams resounding through his head. He couldn't breathe, he felt like he was drowning. The sheets were tangled around him, trapping him against the bed. He ripped at them, overwhelming panic sending him sprawling headlong out of the bed and onto the floor.

His hand hit the whiskey bottle and it crunched, shards of glass cutting into his palm. Pain brought him back into himself and he sat up, breathing heavily. Blood was running through his fingers, and he picked up a shirt that was lying on the floor and wrapped it around the wound. 

__

Great Odin that was a bad dream. He shook his head. _I need a drink… _

-~-~-~-

Reeve watched the electricians, builders, and assorted workmen as they milled around the break in the plate. He was tired, it was nearly two in the morning and whilst the labourers got to work shifts he was the only one who could oversee the repair work.

"Watch out for the sewage pipes" he called to one man who was cutting away bent and twisted metal from the crack. The man grunted in reply, resentful of the fact he had to work at night.

Traffic had piled up even at this time, and angry drivers honked their horns loudly at the roadwork signs. Reeve rubbed his eyes and wondered why he didn't just let them drive over the break until it split open and dropped them all down to the slums.

__

No… it wouldn't be fair on whoever's underneath.

"Reeve! How's it going buddy? Toddly-pop!"

"Toddl - " Reeve turned and gaped at the man who had appeared behind him. "Palmer!? I thought you were dead!"

"Pip-pop, nope! That was something Rufus called propaganda! I'm a picture of health!" Palmer beamed at the surprised looking Reeve.

"But… but…." Reeve goggled at the brown suited rocket scientist. "You got hit by a _truck_!"

"Yup!" Palmer giggled and slapped his ample stomach. "The doctor said I was well cushioned! Anyway, Rufus wants to see you. And guess what?"

"Uh… what?" Reeve said, wondering what Rufus could want with him. Had he found out he had defected to Avalanche? Reeve started sweating at the thought.

"Scarlet and Heidegger gave the Space Program a handout of sixty-million Gil! Want to go celebrate with a nice cupcake and cup of tea?"

"Bugger!" the workman swore suddenly, and Reeve turned back around to see sewage spurting up out of the square hole he had cut. 

"…. You know." Reeve sighed. "I think I will."

-~-~-~-

Music throbbed through the room, lights flashed and spun in multicoloured, glittering waves. People surged, the constant changing lights adding a stop-motion effect to the frenzied, alcohol fuelled dancing.

Reno was more than happy to lose himself in the heaving mixture of sound and movement, whiskey coursed like wild-fire through his veins, adrenaline flooded his brain, all memories of the past and all thoughts of the future vanished in the pounding tide. It was what he wanted.

-~-~-~-

Reeve stood to the rear of the room, as far away from Rufus as he could get. The Cait Sith control device was whirring quietly in his pocket, its hum negligible. Heidegger and Palmer were sat at the long table, their hands resting on the surface.

Rufus ran a hand through his hair and then turned to face them, his eyes travelling slowly from face to face. Reeve found himself meeting the Presidents frosty blue eyes square on; for some reason he felt exhilarated rather than fearful at the thought of capture.

"Now then...... We're faced with two issues." Rufus kept his gaze focused on Reeve. "1. Destroy Meteor. 2. Remove the barrier around North Cave and defeat Sephiroth." 

He raised a hand and pointed it at the three of them.

"Any ideas?" 

"Gya haah hah hah! We already solved the first problem!" Heidegger laughed. "Meteor will soon be smashed to bits! The plan has already been put in motion. Namely, to collect Huge Materia from each region." 

Scarlet entered the room as if on cue. She glanced across at Reeve and her lips twitched as thought about to laugh. Restraining herself, she turned to Rufus.

"Huge Materia is a high density special type of materia made through a special compression process in Mako reactors." She gestured expansively. "The energy extracted from it is 330 times the strength of normal materia. Ha, ha, ha! How about that!?" 

She crossed her arms and turned to face Reeve, speaking directly to him.

"We will gather all the Huge Materia together and ram it into Meteor." 

Reeve looked back at her, wondering why she seemed so intent on emphasising that to him. She studied him for a bare second and then swung back to Rufus.

"That will cause a huge explosion!! Reducing Meteor literally to bits." 

"You're going to ram into Meteor?" Rufus frowned at Scarlet. "Do you think we have the technology to do it?" 

"Don't worry about that!" Scarlet smiled at Rufus. "More importantly, we've got to collect Huge Materia from each area." 

"We've already collected materia from Nibelheim." Heidegger interrupted, unwillingly to let the dark eyed blonde have all the glory. "All that's left is 'Corel' and 'Fort Condor'. I've already dispatched troops to Corel. Ghaa haah hah hah!" 

Reeve put his hand in his pocket, ending the transmission and giving control back to Cait Sith. Avalanche had enough information to start working against Shinra again.

"Very good" Rufus nodded. "As soon as we have collected all the Huge Materia together report back to me. Dismissed." 

Scarlet, Heidegger and Palmer left the room, but as Reeve passed Rufus, the President held out a hand and stopped him. "Just a moment Reeve…"

"… sir?" Reeve felt his stomach lurch.

Rufus raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't look so nervous. I trust you more than anyone else in this building Reeve. You have your job, you do it well. You're dependable."

"Uh… thank you sir."

"We fight a difficult battle. Sephiroth is strong, stronger than you can imagine. I truly doubt we have heard the last from Avalanche. The Planet itself is arrayed against us." Rufus turned from the brown haired man. "On top of that someone is spreading dissent throughout the Shinra army. Hojo is rapidly dissolving into insanity. The Turks have lost their most formidable member."

Reeve rubbed the side of his foot against the floor. "You make our situation sound hopeless sir."

"Not hopeless. Just difficult." Rufus smirked. "If something should happen to me, for whatever reason, I don't want Shinra to fall into the hands of oafs and incompetents. I considered my options. And you seemed the best candidate of the bunch."

"S-sir?"

"If I die Reeve, you become President of Shinra."

-~-~-~-

Rude was more than glad to be relieved of his mission to watch Hojo by three members of Soldier when he returned to Midgar. The three men took Hojo away, up to his lab. Rude straightened his jacket, and walked up the stairs to the Turks office. He hoped Reno would be there, he had missed his friends sharp sense of humour.

To his disappointment the redhead was missing, only Elena sat at her computer, managing to look exhausted and enthusiastic at the same time.

"…" Rude glanced at the clock and sighed. Reno was often late, but rarely this late. 

__

If he's not careful, he'll get demoted, Rude thought. _And that will mean I'll get put in charge, which I really don't want. I wish he'd be just a little more responsible sometimes… _

-~-~-~-

Heidegger and Scarlet sat in silence, waiting for the first call. They didn't have to wait long. The PHS buzzed loudly in the centre of the room, and they both jumped for it. Scarlet got there first and quickly spun away from Heidegger whilst listening to the Guard on the opposite end.

"Yes, yes you're reporting from Corel… did you get it?……………No!? Why not?……… _Avalanche_ took it? How did they know?……… Alright, stop making pathetic excuses! Kya ha ha ha ha! Get your squad over to Fort Condor now……… I have a bad feeling about this!"

She threw the PHS onto the desk and glowered at Heidegger. "Your useless guards let Avalanche steal it."

"_My_ useless guards? Gya ha ha! You're the one whose in charge of them!"

"Oh don't give me that!"

The two sat in stony silence again, fury radiating from both of them as they worked at separate tasks. When the PHS buzzed again they both leapt for it, this time Heidegger managing to grab it first.

"Gya ha ha ha! Did you get it?…………What do you mean you were beaten? Did you follow my battle strategy?………………………Hopeless! Gya ha ha ha! ……… I don't care what happened to the Condor!" 

He slammed the PHS down and glowered at Scarlet. "Another failure!"

"We have two Huge Materia already," she said sharply. "It should be enough. But we need to get the one from Junon to Rocket Town before Avalanche gets to it! Kya ha ha ha!"

"I'll send a full complement of Shinra Guards - "Heidegger began.

"They've already messed up twice! Kya ha ha ha! I'll send my new invention, 'Carry Armor'!" 

"And I'll send Reno." Heidegger had little faith in machines. "And he can meet up with Rude at Rocket Town. Gya ha ha ha!"

"I'd ask why you weren't including Elena." Scarlet said sharply. "But we don't have time. I'll go and arrange transport for Carry Armor. You get those Turks in gear. Kya ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

-~-~-~-

A/N: Over 100 reviews! Thank you all so much ^_^ 

This chapter is a little on the violent side, but hopefully nobody got offended by that.


	38. You Saved My Life

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Thirty-Eight: You Saved My Life

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Reno was woken by the incessant tuneless noise of his PHS. Rolling over in the bed, he discovered another body. Peering at it with bleary eyes he ascertained it was a fairly good looking woman. 

The PHS continued to beep. He groaned and sat up, massaging his temples with his fingers. It felt like someone had drilled into his brain and then buried a chainsaw in there. He wasn't in his room, thankfully. He had made a rule not to take anybody else back to his apartment after a group of disgruntled ex-lovers had mailed him two-hundred mail bombs, one after the other.

The PHS continued to beep. He wondered where he had ended up, it looked like a girls room, at least if the vanity table lined with make-up was any clue. Was it hers? Reno looked at the sleeping woman and tried to remember. A fuzzy memory of her asking if he had a place to go, his reply that he did… Where had he taken her?

The PHS continued to beep. He looked round the room, wondering why any woman would need a punch bag. Surely if he'd come here he'd had the keys? He had plenty of girlfriends, but he couldn't place the room at all. There were stuffed teddy-bears scattered across the room; presumably they'd been on the bed before he and the woman had turned up. None of his girls had a teddy collection surely?

The PHS continued to beep. He finally spotted his jacket, lying in a heap at the doorway of the room. The noise was coming from his pocket. Whoever it was must be very persistent, Reno thought fuzzily. He should go and answer it, but nausea and pain were battling through his body and he didn't really want to move.

The PHS continued to beep. The woman beside him was beginning to stir. Reno shook his head and promptly regretted it. Nausea forced him out of bed and he staggered to the door, hoping desperately to find a bathroom. Where the hell was he anyway? Everything was too girly, he was certain he'd never been here before. It must belong to the woman.

The PHS continued to beep. Reno gave up and answered it.

"Yeah?"

"….Reno? Where are you?" Rude's deep voice seemed terribly loud; Reno felt his brain hammer against his skull in disapproval.

"I dunno…"

"…… it's three in the afternoon…… Heidegger needs you…"

"Heidegger," Reno moaned "Can go screw a chicken for all I care right now. "

"It's urgent." Rude said flatly. "He needs you to go to Junon……… arrange transport for the Huge materia……… get it to Rocket Town ……… Help me load the rocket………and fire it at Meteor."

Reno stared at a pastel blue wall blankly. He was really going to puke in a minute. He had the hangover to end all hangovers, he hadn't a clue where he was, Hojo had been messing with his brain, an anonymous woman was about to wake up and start demanding information and now he had to be a rocket scientist.

"Rude, I officially hate my life."

"…… You're hungover."

"I'm not hungover. I'm dying. My head's about to fall off and roll across the floor."

"…… You're hungover. I'll meet you in Rocket Town in around three hours.…… Call me before you get there." Rude ended the call.

Reno groaned and looked around for the rest of his clothes. His trousers were under a big button eyed bear. He stared at it. It stared back.

"I hate my life," he told it. The bear, unsurprisingly, didn't reply. Then he noticed the little tag of cardboard in it's ear. Pulling his trousers out from underneath it, he turned it round towards him and read the tag.

__

NAME BEAR: Elena. 

You are a warm and sensitive person whose good nature means you are loved by everyone. Be careful not to let others exploit your willingness to help. 

Send all your friends a NAME BEAR! A personalised gift that really stands out!

"She's going to kill me." Reno said to no one. "She's going to chop out my insides and throw my mutilated corpse off the top of the Shin-ra building. "

-~-~-~-

Marlene sat by the window, watching a long line of birds wing their way across the sky.

"Where are they all going?" she asked Elmyra.

Elmyra glanced out the window, and smiled. "They're going to the land around Costa del Sol and North Corel. It means winter is coming."

Marlene's eyes lit up. "Will there be snow? I've read about snow!"

"I wouldn't count on it." Tseng said from the far side of the room. "It's going to get hotter before it gets colder."

Marlene frowned and looked at the angry red and orange ball of rock that sat in the centre of the sky. "My Papa's going to fix that."

"… Good luck to him." Tseng said.

-~-~-~-

Reno stomped along the tunnel that connected Junon to the underwater reactor in a foul mood. The guards that were with him shot him nervous looks as they followed him, they had rarely seen the Turk in such a temper. Carry Armor trailed at the back, it's crossbeam nearly filling the width of the tunnel. The deep rich blue sea, swarming with beautiful exotic fish covered in gleaming multicoloured reflective scales, was lost on the group. 

The submarine bay was less impressive; the metal pipes and walls corroded quickly in the damp atmosphere, the pressure was high, the air thick and turgid. Reno felt his headache worsen and sighed. 

"No rest for the wicked… let's get moving. Huge Materia on submarine, hopefully that's simple enough that you can't mess it up. Get loading."

"Yes sir!" The guards swarmed in different directions, some to the submarine and some to operate the loading device. Reno watched them work, and found himself wondering what Elena would say when she got home that night. She couldn't prove it was him right? 

The mechanical loading device ground it's way past, it's rusty metal clamp clenched tight around the Huge Materia. It screeched to the end of it's path, and then slowly lowered itself down into the submarine. 

Footsteps sounded behind him and Reno frowned. Typical late arrivals, missing out on all the work.

"What are you doing? Help load." he turned. 

"Cloud!?" He gaped at the three figures stood there. Cloud, Tifa and Cid. Avalanche had managed to turn up in time after all. And they'd brought Cloud back from the dead.

"You know I don't work for cheap!" Cid said cheerfully around his cigarette. 

"Looks like we barely made it." Tifa glared at Reno.

"Either give it to us or else." Cloud didn't need to heft his massive sword or flex a wiry muscle. His eyes, impossibly bright, met Reno's without flinching. He had changed, that undercurrent of insecurity and confusion had gone, had burned away into nothing. "...which is it gonna be?"

"Unfortunately, I don't have time to deal with you." Reno signalled to the Carry Armor waiting patiently in the shadows. "My priority is the Huge Materia!" 

Without waiting to see what happened next he took off, darting round the submarine and yelling at the guard stood at the door. "What're you waiting for!? Set sail!"

The guard saluted "Yes si-"

"Shut up and move!" Reno winced as a piece of metal flew overhead, accompanied by the crackling light of an lightening-3 spell. The guard nodded and slammed the hatch shut. Engines roared, and the submarine bubbled swiftly below the water.

There was a crunching sound, and Reno looked up to see one of Carry Armor's arms burying itself into the far wall. He shook his head and raced down the walkway. The second submarine was in dock, several guards standing by it, watching the battle between Avalanche and Carry Armor with obvious interest.

"Are you all completely out of it?" Reno jumped into the midst of them, grabbing one by the front of his uniform. "Get moving before they do!"

At that point an ear-splitting roar echoed through the submarine bay, and all the lights flickered and went out. The dense blackness lasted barely a second before it was lit up with a burning diffuse purple light; the submarine bay had twisted into a vertigo inducing illusion, somehow becoming a huge space without changing at all. Carry Armor stood at the far end, spot lit and looking tiny all by itself in the changed space.

A second roar, loud enough to shake loose debris from the ceiling that was both where it had always been and miles above them. Dust showered around the guards and Reno as they stood on the submarine. As one they looked up.

The dragon that soared into view was like nothing any of them had seen before. It resembled the red dragons of Nibelheim the way a thousand year old redwood resembled a stunted twig. It was enormous, it's massive wings stretching out like a dark canopy above them, it was graceful, wheeling through the air to position itself over Carry Armor. It's skin was like metal, a burnished silver plate that rippled as it flew. It's head was shaped like that of an eagle, and as it's mouth opened every guard threw themselves to the submarine and clung to it for dear life. The only exception was the one Reno was still holding, as Reno was still gaping up at the dragon, stunned.

"Bahamut" he whispered in shock. The guard he was holding whimpered.

A powerful light began to form in Bahumut's open mouth, collecting together into a ball so bright it hurt the eyes. For a moment the God held it, everything below lit up as clear as day.

Then he released it, the white hot beam flashing down into Carry Armor with the very air burning up around it. The floor crashed into pieces, and shock waves rippled out from the point of impact. The water surged up around the submarine, which swung crazily about in the swell. Reno and the guard staggered sideways, teetered for a second on the edge, and then fell overboard.

-~-~-~-

The two Soldiers slept, slumped on the floor where they had fallen. Hojo would have dragged them to one side of the lab, but the combination of heavy-set, muscular bodies and chunky armour made them too heavy for him. 

He worked feverishly, ignoring the blood and Mako that splashed onto his skin, the screams of the animals as he dismembered them, and the exhaustion and pain that blurred his own vision.

He was thinking of Cloud, Red XIII and Valentine. Hojo knew that Cloud had thrown off Jenova's control. The cells he had injected into himself gave him a weak link with his son, and his son's puppets. Cloud was free and he was strong. 

Red XIII was different. He had only managed a minor investigation into the beast, but it was enough to know that it had a stronger bond with the Planet than any human. Who knew what secret sources of power it could draw on?

And then there was Valentine. Hojo slashed downwards with a scalpel, the force of the blow spraying blood into his face. He had caught the merest glimpse of him at the North Crater; as Avalanche had been forced aboard the Highwind after the Planet had released it's Weapon. It had been enough. With the Mako storm tearing at his cloak and hair, alternate searing light and dancing shadows flashing over his face, and the eyes that blazed with a demonic fire, Hojo knew he was looking at an avenger. Somehow Valentine had managed to control the demons Hojo had placed in him. Somehow Valentine had been able to remain sane, after thirty years trapped in a nightmare with only his demons for company. Somehow Valentine was able to come after him and Sephiroth.

"With my own hand I made him stronger!" Hojo snarled. "They were meant to break his mind and spirit, and instead he draws on them! But I'll show him. I'll show them all! The Planet will crumble to dust, my son will become God over all, and nothing will be allowed to stop that!"

-~-~-~-

Reno surfaced, spitting a mouthful of foul-tasting water out. For a moment he doggy paddled, trying to recover from the shock of the cold water. From the yells on the submarine he knew Avalanche had finished off Carry Armor and were trying to steal the vehicle. His first impulse was to get back on the submarine and stop them. Then he realised the guard that had fallen with him hadn't surfaced. He debated with himself for a second, and then shook his head and dived back under. 

Peering through the murky depths, he saw the guard's thrashing figure and swam towards it. He had just reached the drowning man when the sound of the submarine motor throbbed through the water. Reno grabbed his arm, feeling the water swell around them as the submarine started to submerge. 

__

Of all the guards I could've fallen overboard with, I get the one that can't swim. Reno surfaced again, supporting the guard as he spluttered and gasped. _And I let Avalanche steal a sub so as to save his sorry life. Boy this day just gets better and better._

"S-sir!" the guard coughed up some more water. Reno swam back to the dock and pushed the guard onto it, before climbing out himself.

"Th-thank you sir!" The guard tried to salute, but was caught halfway with a fit of retching. Reno sighed and looked at the empty submarine bay whilst water ran out of his hair and shirt and onto the floor.

"Do you think they'll catch up with the Huge Materia?" The guard recovered slightly.

"Yeah." Reno replied. "Those guys are too good for their own good…"

"What should we do? Should we go after them?"

"No point. They're long gone."

"… but … isn't that our only chance to stop Meteor?" the Guard sounded fearful. 

"I don't know. Let's get back up to Junon so I can make a report to Heidegger... And tell Scarlet her stupid robot was as useful as an ice materia in a blizzard." Reno started walking towards the exit.

"Sir!" the guard jumped to his feet. "Wait!"

"What? Make it good." Reno turned impatiently back. 

"I just… uh… You saved my life, and well… I wouldn't have expected you to… thanks." the guard robbed his foot on the ground, embarrassed.

"I'll throw you back in if you don't hurry up!" 

"Yes sir! Sorry sir!"

-~-~-~-

A/N: That came out different to how I was expecting ^^ It was meant to include some more from Rude and Tseng, but it was getting long so that will come in the next chapter. 

I recently found a document that outlines the timeline of FF7, and it's proved incredibly useful. Thus I'd like to credit Maou whose document can be found at http://www.rpgamer.com/games/ff/ff7/info/JenovaProject.txt


	39. Think it'll Work?

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Think it'll Work?

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

The Gelnika flew through the sky with it's precious cargo on board. The one remaining Huge Materia, on which all of Shinra's hopes in defeating Meteor rested, was being flown from Junon airport to Rocket Town. Along with the Huge Materia were various other items that had been collected in hopes they would aid in the fight against Sephiroth. 

The pilot hummed to himself as he flew the craft over the sea. 

He didn't notice Ultima Weapon gliding silently along behind the plane, drawing a deep breath as it followed. 

The Gelnika sank like a stone.

-~-~-~-

"Hey Rude…"

"…… yes?"

"Are we there yet?"

"………… Very funny." Rude watched the sea roll past the submarine. "…it's your fault we're down here…"

"My fault Weapon decided to sink the stupid plane?" Reno fished in his pocket for his cigarettes. "More like Heidegger's fault for giving me guards that can't swim… would you _look_ at what happened to my cigs? " He held up the soggy mass of paper and tobacco mournfully. 

"… I see it." Rude pointed to a dark shape in the water. 

The submarine latched onto the sunken plane, and the two Turks made there way down the ladder into it. The Huge Materia was quickly found, in the first room to the left. Reno picked it up and grinned at Rude.

"That was easy!"

__

Clunk. 

"……You had to say it didn't you?" 

The two Turks listened to the sounds of footsteps outside. Three pairs of feet, echoing through the waterlogged space with disturbing loudness. Reno raised an eyebrow as he heard the sound of the other door open.

"Ten to one it's you-know-who… They'll clean this place out if we don't stop 'em." Reno frowned. "But damn that Bahumut's a nasty looking fella…"

"…… try to confuse them……"

"Before they get a chance to do anything too major? Think it'll work?"

"… No."

"Me either. Ready?"

"…Yes."

-~-~-~-

Scarlet strode impatiently through the corridors of the Shinra building, high heels clicking sharply against the floor. The failure of both her guards and her robot rankled, and when she heard a familiar humming from Palmer's office her fury intensified. She opened the door to his office and looked at the dumpy, brown-suited man slurping noisily from a cup.

"Palmer…" she smiled icily at the Head of the Space Division. "I thought I sent you to Rocket Town?"

"Oh I'm going, I'm going, don't worry! Just finishing a little tea-break!" Palmer giggled.

Scarlet crossed the room in two strides and hauled the unfortunate man into the air by the throat, the cup of tea hitting the floor and smashing. Light frightened eyes met dark glittering ones, as Scarlet slowly squeezed Palmers throat, her long nails cutting into his skin.

"Get that rocket in the air," she hissed, "Or I will melt your body down and use it as engine grease. Understand?"

"Glrk!" Palmer tried to nod, and Scarlet dropped him disdainfully. The fat man fled the room, leaving Scarlet gazing out his window at Midgar.

"Why am I surrounded by _incompetents!?"_

-~-~-~-

Cloud walked into the room first, and he was clearly surprised to see the two men stood there.

"Turks!?"

"...again?" Rude frowned slightly as Tifa followed the Avalanche leader in. It seemed like he was always trying to kill the woman he loved. After her came the pilot, Cid.

"We just seem to keep running into each other lately!" Reno grinned cheerfully, giving no sign that he expected the battle to turn out badly. Gesturing with his electro-mag rod at the nearby door, he added. "There were weapons and Materia developed solely to destroy Sephiroth." 

"...but, it was attacked by Weapon and sunk to the bottom of the sea." Rude spoke seriously, hoping that Avalanche and Tifa would recognise everything on the Gelnika as belonging undoubtedly to Shinra and leave without a fight.

"I can't give you what's here." A glint of bravado came into Reno's eyes. "We'll take out Sephiroth." 

Cloud shrugged, and drew his sword. There was clearly no chance he was going to let Shinra keep what was theirs.

"I guess this is our last meeting." Reno spun his electro-mag rod and took up a fighting stance.

"I won't let you get in our way." Rude followed suit.

The three Avalanche members shared the briefest of glances, and then started one of the most well co-ordinated attacks Rude had ever seen. 

"Haste - all!" Tifa yelled the words out, and immediately jumped back as the spell swirled around the three attackers.

"Regen - all!" Cloud followed suit, he too jumping back the moment the spell had been cast.

"Wall - all!" Cid cast the final spell a bare second after Tifa had cast the first, the magical barriers springing up around the Avalanche team and shimmering in the air with near invisibility. Tifa was already running forward for the first attack, spinning around and slamming the base of her foot into Reno's chest. He staggered back from the force of the blow, but had enough breath to gasp out; "Confuse!"

It was Tifa's turn to stagger back as the spell hit and sent her world spinning. Reno tried to bring his electro-mag rod around in a back hand in a follow up, but at the zenith of it's path it hit Cloud's sword with a crash.

Rude cast his own confuse spell, the magic washing over Cloud as he swung his sword away from Reno. The warrior shook his head, and then jumped back from the Turk. Cid ran his spear at Rude, and the Turk was forced to twist sideways to avoid the diamond hard tip. The pilot swung round after him, but Rude was ready and slammed a powerful fist into his face, the magic barrier rippling with the blow but still absorbing the main force of it. 

The confuse spell clawed at Tifa's mind, and she turned on Cloud. He grunted as she hit him, and then took one hand of his sword long enough to whack her across the back of the head and release her from the confusion. She spun round and glared at Reno, fury dancing in each eye. Cloud promptly stepped away from her.

"Beat rush!" The furious woman leapt forward and started slamming her fists into the redhead Turk so fast they blurred into each other. "Somersault!" She spun round and kicked him in the face, throwing him back into the metal wall of the room. "Waterkick!" She kicked him again, this time with the force of the sea behind her, smashing him back into the wall. "Meteordrive!" she picked the hapless Turk up and then slammed him down into the floor. Rude winced.

"Ow!" Reno clambered to his feet, bruised and bleeding, and put one hand against the wall to steady himself. Tifa smiled with satisfaction as she stepped back. 

"Neo Turk Light" Reno was as furious as Tifa had been, and the electricity spell drew from his rage, sparking crazily as it flashed through the air and into her. 

Cid brought his spear in low, aiming for Rude's gut. The Turk chopped it away with his hand, and cast Fire-2 on the pilot, a wash of flame driving him away and giving Rude room to dart out from the corner. Cid swore volubly, and skidded round after him, using the long reach of his weapon to attack again. This time Rude was unable to defend, the point driving into his arm and drawing blood.

Reno was suddenly beset by Cloud, who cut and slashed at the Turk. With the haste speeding his already quick moves Reno was hard pressed to defend, his electro-mag rod sparking each time it parried the heavy sword. Driven back by the relentless onslaught, he soon found himself pressed up against the wall.

Rude ran over, using his good arm to batter the swordsman. Cloud grunted as the magical-wall faded and he took the full impact of Rude's blows. Reno took advantage of the let up and slammed his rod into the side of Cloud's head, electricity crackling.

"Ice-3!" Tifa sent the frozen missiles flying at Rude, cold slicing through him. He shuddered, but didn't return the attack, instead turning to defend against Cid who had come up behind him and was once more thrusting his spear forward. Rude caught it and twisted it away. The pilot narrowed his eyes at the Turk, and dragged on his cigarette. 

"Bahamut!"

Reno swore as the lights went dim, and then purple. Above them the armoured dragon wheeled, power collecting in it's mouth. 

"This is gonna hurt…"

The beam smashed down into them, intense white hot power that burned their skin whilst explosions sunbursted around them. The light was blinding, the pain unbearable. The moment stretched for an eternity and then Bahamut swept away into thin air, the explosions lessened, then stopped and the two battered Turks were left facing Avalanche once more.

Reno shook his head, pain disjointing his thoughts. He couldn't cope with that a second time, and by the glint in Cid's eye he knew the pilot could summon it again. He put his hand on the Huge Materia protectively, thought of the meteor speeding towards them, and then of the probably death that awaited him if he continued to fight. He ran.

Rude took a quick survey of the odds, glanced briefly at Tifa - eyes hidden by his sunglasses - and then he too, ran.

-~-~-~-

Reno and Rude reached Rocket Town at the same time as Palmer. The rocket scientist was so flustered by the scare Scarlet had given him he didn't notice the two Turks battle-scarred, slightly smoking state. 

"Goody - you're here at last! Quick quick! One of you take the Huge Materia up to the rocket, the other one come with me to the ground control room! Hurry before she turns up!"

"Here Rude." Reno tossed the Materia to his friend. "Have fun."

"……" Rude sighed, and started towards the rocket.

-~-~-~-

Marlene scribbled busily, the row of colourful crayons spilled out beside her. Elmyra was outside, planting some shrubs she had bought. Tseng was cleaning dishes, one of the few things he could do without straining himself. As he wiped the last plate and put it to dry, he sighed. The dreariness of his new life depressed him. He didn't want to live out his last days cleaning dishes and leaching off the goodwill of others. 

He left the kitchen and looked down at the small form of Marlene on the floor. She clearly resented his presence in the house, and he felt strangely guilty about being the cause of dissent in a household. He sighed again; he had been a Turk and here he was feeling guilty over upsetting a kid. It was amazing what complete dependence could do to a person. Still, he would make another effort to be nice.

"Marlene…"

She jumped, she hadn't heard him come in. Looking up, she flushed slightly.

"Hi Tseng…"

"What are you drawing?" Tseng frowned, he wasn't used to talking to children.

"Um… a picture of my Papa." Marlene looked at her crayon pack, embarrassed. 

"Can I see?"

"I guess so…" she handed the picture up to him reluctantly.

"Hmm." Tseng studied the scrawl of primary colours. "It's very good…"

"Thank you. Marlene mumbled.

"I like the way he's jumping up and down on my mutilated corpse."

"… yes …" Marlene's voice sank even lower.

"And the snakes devouring my flesh were a nice touch."

"They're worms."

"Ah…of course. Green worms." Tseng handed the picture back. "Imaginative. And rather surreal. I await the final piece with interest."

"…" Marlene looked up at the ex-Turk. "Are you going to kill me now?"

"Of course not. You should have seen some of the pictures Reno's drawn of me over the years." Tseng smiled faintly. "He's nearly as good as you."

"Really? Whose Reno?"

-~-~-~-

The technical brilliance of Shinra's engineering squad had never failed to impress Rude. The rusty, precariously balanced rocket had been converted into a Huge Materia fuelled missile in the space of two hours. The entire nosecone had been overhauled, a coded case once meant for bringing back scientific samples now held the single Huge Materia safely within it. Only the auto-pilot remained to be fixed, and the engineers had assured him it would be done within twenty minutes. 

He left the control room, flanked by two commander guards. Twenty minutes, he thought, and Avalanche wouldn't be able to stop them. He was almost at the exit when he heard the yell.

"Goddammit, what the hell do they think they're gonna do to my rocket!? I'm outta here, Cloud! I'm gonna kick those $^%$# Shinra right out of my rocket!" 

He stepped out the door and looked down the ladder. There was no mistaking the three people climbing the ladder and hopping onto the corroded metal walkway that led to the rocket's door. 

"...you again?" He looked at Cloud, Cid and Tifa without enthusiasm. _They must have been practically on our tail all the way back from the Gelnika_, he thought. _Still, if I can draw out the battle long enough for the auto-pilot to be fixed…_ He stepped forward, the guards with him.

"...We will eliminate everyone who gets in Shinra's way." 

-~-~-~-

A/N: Depending on how you play the game, the Turks can go to the Gelnika either before or after the Rocket. It just made more sense to me this way, and this is how I play it. 

Shiankra - LoaE is going to continue up to the end of the game, past the final "official" Turk scene, but not what happens after Meteor. Though I might be writing another story that starts from there ^_^ 


	40. Plain Stinking Luck

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Forty: Plain Stinking Luck

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Elena opened the door to her apartment, rubbing her head with her free hand. She was glad to be home after the long mission in the North and the lonely day at the office. Visions of bubble baths, heart-warming romance novels and hot chocolate floated through her mind.

Her hallway had been trashed. 

She gaped at the torn curtains, smashed bottles and broken furniture. What had happened? Had she been burgled? But homes on the upperplate just didn't _get_ burgled! 

She proceeded cautiously through the rooms, taking in the open fridge with water pooling on the floor, the books scattered across the floor with pages spilt everywhere. It wasn't until she reached the bedroom that she got her first clue to what had happened.

In letters a foot high someone had scrawled the word _bastard_ across one pale blue wall in lipstick. Elena stared at it blankly, then turned her eyes to the bed.

"Ewww, _gross_!"

-~-~-~-

The two commander guards flanking Rude were taken out extremely quickly. Rude - already tired from the previous battle - was hard pressed to keep himself from being killed. His only goal was to draw the battle out for as long as possible and he found himself relying on Barrier spells and Cure2 to keep the unending onslaught of powerful attacks from completely defeating him. 

It was an extra powerful attack from Cloud that sent him flying backwards along the rusty metal walkway. Sliding to a halt and finding himself gazing at the clear blue sky above, he decided that if the auto-pilot wasn't fixed by now it wasn't his fault. Flicking his hand towards his pocket he patched into the control room.

".......they got us." 

Cloud, Cid and Tifa all raced past him into the rocket. Rude continued to stare at the sky, lacking even the energy to cast cure. 

-~-~-~-

".......they got us." Rude's voice echoed through the Ground Control Room. The engineers groaned, and Palmer started to cry as he thought of Scarlet's fury. Reno wished he had just one useable cigarette left. Heck, he'd settle for a dog-end. 

"I want to hear what's going on inside."

Palmer wiped his nose on the back of his hand and pressed a few buttons. There was a burst of static, and then Cid's voice came crackling through the speakers.

"Humans who used to only roam around on the ground are able to fly now! And finally, we're about to go into outer space." 

"They're going to steal my rocket!" Palmer wailed. "They mustn't! I worked so hard on it!"

  
"Science is a 'Power' created and developed by humans. And science just might be what saves this planet. I was able to earn my living thanks to science. So to me, there's nothing greater!" 

"Great. _Now_ he remembers who was payin' his wages." Reno slumped back against the wall. "Heidegger is gonna kill me for this…"

"Now quit your worrying 'bout what Shinra's gonna do!" Cid's voice sounded clear and strong "I don't want to regret not have -" 

"Sir?" Another voice cut across Cid's. "The auto-pilot has been repaired."

"It's too late" Palmer sobbed. "They're already aboard!"

"…" Reno stared at the control panel in front of Palmer. Couldn't auto-pilots override the manual controls? In which case…

"Fire the rocket!"

"What!? But Avalanche's on there!" Palmer turned wide wet eyes towards him.

"Don't argue, just do it!" Reno snapped impatiently. "We'll show 'em whose boss of this planet!"

Palmer blinked, and then sudden realisation caught him and a beaming smile spread across his countenance. Turning back to the control panel he pushed another few buttons, and from outside there came the sudden roar of the powerful rocket engines springing to life.

-~-~-~-

Rude was taken completely by surprise when the engines started. The walkway he was lying on started vibrating crazily and he clutched the rail desperately. Looking over the edge he found himself staring almost directly into a white-hot furnace glowing so brightly his sunglasses were useless against it's brilliance. With spots dancing in front of his eyes he pulled away and started to crawl as fast as he could along the metal platform, away from the rocket. 

The vibrating was getting stronger, the walkway swayed like a leaf in a gale. The noise was incredible, so loud it ceased to be heard and was simply felt. Heat surged up and around the rocket in a burning wave, and Rude hastily stuffed a fire-2 materia into a defence slot to avoid being burned. Praying silently to all the God's he could think of he started climbing down the ladder.

-~-~-~-

Reno ran out of the Ground Control Room to watch the launch, joined immediately by the engineers and Palmer. The power was building steadily, and the rocket itself was nearly hidden by the heat and smoke. Crowds of towns people stood around staring at the spectacle, forcing themselves forward against the wind. Tree branches whipped back, leaves torn violently from them. Chairs, wires, wheels and gates were all ripped from their shoring and thrown into the air. The rocket itself was shaking so hard it looked like it was going to fall apart.

"Ha! Take that you whacked out planet loving weirdo freaks!" Reno cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled into the whirlwind of power. "Dismiss Shinra will ya? Think we're just gonna let you run off with seven billion Gils worth of rocket huh? You are going _down_ Avalanche! - Well, up actually… "

"It's so exciting!" Palmer babbled earnestly by his side. "I thought Avalanche would stop the launch and Scarlet would be really really mad! Hey hey! We have lift off!"

The rocket started to rise into the air, slowly at first but speeding up. Smoke blasted across the town and for a moment no one could see a thing. As it cleared, they looked up to see the bright flame of the rocket arcing into the blue sky. The townspeople let out a cheer. They may have had to wait for it, but the launch had fulfilled all their expectations.

"Goodbye Avalanche!" Reno waved to the rocket, feeling more cheerful than he had done in a long time. 

"I gotta say" Palmer continued. "I thought we'd have to cancel it when Avalanche went aboard! It's a good thing you remembered there was an escape pod so they could get off in time!"

"Yep, my quick thinking saved the day agai - escape pod?"

-~-~-~-

Rude lurched sideways into a wall and grabbed it for support. He was covered in soot, his normally immaculate suit was charred and smoking, and one lens in his sunglasses had cracked. Taking a deep breath to recover his composure, he brushed himself off as best he could, and made his way towards the ground control room.

He was a little surprised to see a solemn group of engineers and guards gathered in a circle outside. Pushing his way through he was even more surprised to see Reno screaming obscenities in the centre whilst throttling Palmer. He tapped his partner on the shoulder, causing the redhead to swing round furiously, dropping Palmer and brandishing his electro-mag rod.

"……" Rude looked at him blankly through his one good lens. He wasn't sure who was in a worse state, him or his the near hysterical Reno. "What's wrong?"

"What wrong!? What's wrong!? They won't die! None of them! What am I meant do!?" Reno smashed his electro-mag rod into a wall, sending sparks flying everywhere. The circle of engineers and guards drew back prudently. "I drop a goddamn sector on them, I fight them, I fire them into space to be blown up in a goddamn meteor and they practically laugh at me as they steal everything we own! Don't they realise how much trouble they're getting me into? Don't they know what Heidegger's like!? They think they're so hot with their bloody summon materia, but they couldn't beat me without it! Bunch of selfish freaks!"

"Reno - " Rude attempted to break into the rant.

"Oh sure they're trying to save the Planet because they're so damn good! The only reason they're against Shinra at all is because they're a bunch of failures who couldn't make it to the top! Who do they think they're kidding? They're just lucky is all! That's the only reason they're not pancakes right now!"

"Reno - "

"Goddamn swinging wires and escape pods! Luck! Plain stinking luck!"

"Reno!" Rude grabbed the Turk by his shoulders and shook him. Reno stopped short and stared at the taller Turk, noticing for the first time his friends dishevelled state.

"You look like hell."

"…… A rocket launched from under me ……" Rude let go of Reno's shoulders. They looked at each other blankly.

"You know what we need?" Reno eventually broke the silence.

"… what?"

"A holiday. Where d'ya want to go?"

"……………"

"How 'bout Wutai? I'm sure I can find some crappy easy mission to take us there."

"………okay." Rude nodded.

"Okay, great. Wutai it is. Let's go."

-~-~-~-

A/N: It's been a long time. Apologies for the wait. Hope this chapter lives up to expectations, and I hope you're all pleased I decided to include the Wutai sub quest ^_~ 

Thank you for all your reviews, they're the only thing that has kept me up to speed on this massive project! I had no idea it was going to wind up so long ^_^ Not too much more though!


	41. Lavender Scented Introspection

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Forty One: Lavender Scented Introspection

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

"I guess Elena left already." Reno glanced round the empty office, noting that his in-tray - normally overflowing - had been emptied. 

"………it is two thirty." Rude sat down at his desk, glancing briefly at his own empty work tray. 

"She's not meant to leave 'till I tell her to go." Reno sulked, dropping into his own chair and opening the top drawer. "I should kick her ass for this."

"……… it's not like she left any work half done." Rude said pointedly. 

Reno pulled a packet of cigarettes from the drawer and leaned his chair back, resting his feet on the desk. "So she's good at the paperwork. She ain't gonna get anywhere 'till she learns to follow orders!"

"…Like you?"

Reno paused in the act of lighting up to give Rude the finger. Rude ignored him, instead taking of his sunglasses and examining the cracked lens ruefully. Deciding they weren't worth saving he threw them towards the wastepaper bin. 

"Hey Rude! Look at me a sec."

Rude glanced round at the redhead as he pulled open his own desk drawer.

"Well whaddya know. Brown." Reno grinned and pulled on the cigarette.

"………………" Rude frowned and took out a spare pair of sunglasses. "Very funny."

"Hey, I had fifty bucks riding on them being blue." Reno shook his head, expelling smoke at the ceiling. "Mind you… it's not like the guys gonna be rushing to collect anytime soon."

"……" Rude leant his elbows on the table and stared at the wall. It had been a long day. A very long day. Crossing the date line was hard on the system anyway; crossing it twice in the space of twelve hours was murder. 

"Wanna hit the bar?" Reno glanced at the clock. "It's not that late…"

Rude groaned. 

"Wimp." Reno said disapprovingly. Rude groaned again.

"I wonder where Avalanche came down… " Reno took his sunglasses off his head and rubbed at his temple. "Now they've got the Huge Materia what are they gonna do with it? What are they planning?"

Rude leant down and turned on the computer. The machine buzzed softly as it loaded up, the Shinra logo appearing briefly on the screen.

"……… Huge Materia………" Rude tapped quickly, navigating the labyrinth network. "……… nothing…"

Reno grimaced. "Typical. Bloody computers."

"I bet Elena could find out………"

Reno ignored that. "Somethin' to do with the Summon Materia Effect you think?"

"… The SME was disproved…"

"Yeah, by Hojo." Reno's voice rose slightly. "That bastard's lied about so many things - and he's been wrong about even more! I bet - "

Rude snapped his fingers. "Wait."

Reno paused.

"……… I was watching Hojo………" Rude frowned. "… I think he's gone insane … "

"What do you mean 'gone'? He's always been a screwed up little loon." Reno glowered. "Why are we even talking about him?"

Rude hesitated, remembering the scene from Junon. The scientist had been almost hysterical as he had ranted, spittle flying from his mouth whilst his skin had writhed on his face in a way that wasn't quite human. And he had spoken of a son? Rude felt somehow he had missed something important, something that could explain everything strange that had happened recently.

"……… never mind."

Reno ground out his cigarette angrily on the edge of his desk. "Hojo is screwed up. This whole company is screwed up. Shiva knows I hate it sometimes!"

"……… you shouldn't say things like that." 

"Why not? I'm supposed to sing the praises of a company that never gave anyone anything but grief? Someone should have strangled the President at birth! Look at the damage he's done! Him and Hojo both should have been killed long ago."

"………"

"You know I'm right. Hell, you're probably the only other person on this Planet that does know how right I am. Everyone who works here is evil, crazy or both! What a company - ran by a bunch of psychopaths!"

"……… you work here…….." Rude said flatly, more than aware of the CCTV cameras silently recording every word. 

Reno grinned, eyes flashing at some hidden joke. "I never said I wasn't a psychopath."

"You're not." Rude peered anxiously at his friend. "…… I'll find some holiday forms… get some coffee…"

Reno was silent for a moment, then sighed. "Okay…"

-~-~-~-

Elena yanked the washing machine open and pulled the sheets out onto the floor, where they spilled rivulets of water everywhere. Since the small clothes horse was already draped with the duvet cover and pillow cases she hung the sheets over the Mako heater, despite all the fire safety warnings against it.

She returned to the main room, where she had started sorting through the torn out pages from her books and fixing them back in with sticking tape. Plopping herself back on the floor she started to go through the pile, mumbling book titles and page numbers under her breath.

When she pulled up the silvery, plastic covered page from her photo album she paused. The smiling couple encased behind the sticky screen looked so happy and serene… She touched them gently, wishing she could step into the scene just for a moment and speak to them. Tears filled her eyes as she looked into the picture.

They had been the happiest couple in the world, of that she had no doubt. Her father may have died when she was two, but she felt she knew him better than she knew herself. He had been kind, loyal, patient… with a smile that dimpled and a laugh that carried. Her mother's tales of love and happiness together had carried her through the long years at Secondary School, where the other girls had laughed at her. She remembered their jeers at her interest in physical education and computing, how she had dreamt of 'getting her own back', and how she never had.

She wondered where they were now. Society ladies perhaps, or secretaries in Shinra. How many of them were engaged or married? How many had found the love that she dreamt of?

The tears spilt over her cheeks as she realised she was still alone, friendless, and that nobody would even care if she disappeared. Her mother was gone - even through her long and painful death the memory of his love had comforted her. Elena sobbed, remembering her wasted, skeletal face and the fragile bony hand that had touched her face on the last day. The quiet, breathy voice that had whispered; _I'm going to him. He's waiting for me. Don't be sad Elena, you're strong, you'll find someone who means as much to you as he did to me._

Afterwards she had been lost. Her mother's illness had given her a purpose of sorts, a role to play. All her energies focused on making the last days as comfortable and painless as possible. And then there had been the cremation, and the grief. And the slow passing of days.

She had been driven by the knowledge of her parents love. It had given her hope, she believed in True Love so implacably it formed a near religious significance to her. She had waited patiently, dreaming of what it would be like. She started to build a life; a few tentative friendships sprang up, particularly at the shooting range. 

And then she had seen him.

And she had fallen in love.

And he had died.

Elena fell forward, clutching the page of photo's to herself. In her haste to be with him she had abandoned everything. Her friends, her hobbies, her life; it had all burned away into insignificance besides the importance of being in love. And he had died and she had been left with nothing, a vast empty world of nothing. 

She was completely alone.

-~-~-~-

Reno stood up from the desk after Rude left the room. He paced the office, the headache he had woken with had worsened by degrees throughout the day. He rubbed fitfully at his temples, knowing it wouldn't help.

He crossed to the window and pulled it open. The outside night was warm and damp, the Mako smog drifting gently from the reactors. Meteor burned in the sky above, dying the city below a deep sultry red. His gaze wandered along the buildings, drawn inexorably to the shadowy pit that was Sector Seven.

How many bodies, he wondered, lay crushed amongst the metal? How many children, bones shattered and ground to dust? How many young couples dead, lying side by side under the weight of massive slabs of concrete? How many mothers and fathers, torn apart after watching their babies die? How many old men and women, expecting only to die peacefully in their sleep, had been brutally awoken by the carnage to experience the full violent pain of their life being ripped from them?

He gripped the edge of the window, his knuckles turning white. He was shaking, staring out at the misty, barely visible rubble that extended back into shadows. 

__

Jump.

The tiny voice came from nowhere, and he squeezed his eyes shut. His head was throbbing. He remembered the first time he had looked down from the Turks office - only five years ago? - and had felt vertigo knot his stomach. It was a long way down.

__

What have you got to lose?

A good question - all he seemed to have these days was the endless rounds of drinking and women, interspersed with hangovers and work. That and the gnawing guilt that Hojo had released in him, that ate away at his sleep and sent him running for the bottle. He sucked in his breath. If he could only regain the lack of empathy he had before… if he could only stop the tide of horror at his own actions from overwhelming him. Rude was wrong, he _was_ a psychopath, and the Planet had too many of them already. His death could only make things better.

And it wasn't like anyone would miss him, he thought fuzzily. Elena would be positively ecstatic to see him go, and Rude had never given any sign that he thought of him as anymore than a fellow Turk and someone to go drinking with.

He leaned forward, out of the window, eyes still closed. It would be so easy…

-~-~-~-

Tseng tossed and turned, unable to find a position that would allow him to remain still for more than a second before his back started aching. Sleep was elusive, he had got by on two or three hours a night whilst a Turk and he disliked turning in so early now.

He twisted round and heard his back click. He swore softly, and gave up, climbing out of bed and drifting towards the kitchen. He was starting back to the guest room with a glass of water when he heard the minute little sob. He hesitated, unwilling to interfere, but when another tiny little sob sounded he turned aside to Marlene's room.

She was stood on a chair, looking out the window. Outlined against the night sky she looked small and fragile. Tseng paused in the doorway, and then said softly.

"Marlene?"

She sniffed, and turned round. Her huge eyes swam with unshed tears. He wanted to pick her up and wipe them away, and he was afraid of her for making him feel that way. 

"It's late."

"I'm sorry…" she whispered, her voice breaking slightly. "I'll go to sleep…"

"Is something wrong?" 

Marlene looked at him. The Turk sounded genuinely worried.

"I miss my Papa," she sniffed again. "But he doesn't like it when I cry, so I won't."

Tseng didn't know what to say. He sensed she was struggling against her misery, trying to put a brave face on. He wanted to reassure her, tell her Barret was alive and thinking of her at that very second. But he knew, better than most, how precarious life really was. Barret could be anywhere, dead or alive. And he couldn't bring himself to lie to the little girl looking at him so mournfully. 

"…"

She climbed down from the chair, sniffing again. A few motes of green light danced at the window, unnoticed by either.

"Shin-Ra are trying to kill him, aren't they?" Marlene shook her head slowly. "I don't understand Shin-Ra…"

Tseng was silent. How could he explain the greed, the corruption, the ruthlessness that was as much a part of the company as the Mako itself? How could he explain the grandiose dreams of the rich, how could he explain that in order for there to be a rich there had to be a poor? And if there was a rich and a poor there was injustice? And if there was injustice there were people who struggled against it, and struggling led invariably to death. How could he explain that Shinra were trying to protect everything they had built up? That Midgar was more important to them than the life of her Father? And worse, how could he explain his own involvement?

At the open window the motes of green light grew denser. 

Marlene pulled the blankets around her as she slid into bed. She hadn't expected an answer. Nobody ever explained the why, only the how.

Tseng turned to go.

At the window green light suddenly flared outwards, spilled out of nothing into a dancing river that filled the room with a glare that sucked the colour out of everything and turned it a rich, vibrant green. Marlene squeaked with fear and dived under the covers, terrified by the sudden outbreak. Tseng clutched the doorframe and looked into the centre of the light.

There was a figure there, so deathly pale and faint it almost wasn't there at all. Like a transparent piece of gauze it bent the light around and through it, flickering gently in the green swell.

"Aerith…." 

She looked at him, and her eyes were holes, deep pure green all across while far in the distance he could see shadows and pulses of light as though he was looking into another world. She spoke, he could see her lips moving, but he could hear nothing.

"Is this Ancient - Cetra magic?" Tseng leaned forward, desperately trying to make out her words.

She spoke again, and it sounded like the death of a whisper; so far away all he could make out was it's shape. She held out her arms, imploring him, but to do what he didn't know. He shook his head in frustration, signalling he couldn't hear. She dropped her arms, and even the faint shimmer in the air that she was faded away. The light dimmed, then disappeared entirely.

"What was that…?" Tseng stared into the air where she had been. He was surprised by how shaky he felt, as though seeing the Cetra had triggered off some kind of primeval fear within him.

"The Flower Lady?" Marlene peeked out over the top of the blanket, eyes wide.

And they both became aware of the sweet lavender fragrance that filled the room.

-~-~-~-

Rude frowned when he returned to the office and found Reno leaning out the window, staring blankly at the devastation of Sector Seven. 

"…… I brought coffee," he set the two plastic cups down on the edge of his desk. 

Reno slammed the window closed and turned away from the view. He grinned at his partner cheerfully, not a sign of his earlier bad mood visible. "Hey great! I was about to keel over unconscious ya know? Long day."

"……… yeah…"

"Let's get these stupid forms filled out and leave 'em on Heidegger's desk for him to see first thing. We'll be in Wutai tomorrow, you wait and see. Hell, I'll staple them to his computer screen, that way he'll _have_ to notice them!"

"…… okay……………"

-~-~-~-

A/N: I promised you Wutai and you get angst! And lot's of it too. Well there's been a lot of pre-scripted stuff recently, and I wanted to just have a kind of break from the action. 

Thanks to Katharos for the fantastic review (plug: http://fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=939946) and in deference to her wishes: this chapter is exactly the right length, neither too long or too short ^_^


	42. Today We're Off Duty

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Forty Two: Today We're Off Duty.

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Wutai couldn't have looked better on the day the Turks arrived. Sunshine scored glorious rays across the sky, sillhouting the great Da Chao mountain and it's carved figures. Cherry blossom trees grew in delicate twisting shapes, exploding into pink bursts of colour as they strained toward the sky. Tapering roofs and slender red beams turned the buildings into works of art, as different from the harsh metal lines of Midgar as it was possible to get. The river gurgled merrily under curving bridges, breaking the sunlight into a thousand dancing points of light.

It was beautiful.

Reno and Rude ignored it totally, and took the most direct route to the bar they could find.

Elena followed them slowly, caught in the sheer magical ambience of the city. She couldn't stop herself from craning to look at the buildings, many with intricate carvings worked into the wood, and the beautiful gardens, each radiating tranquillity.

She had been impressed with Junon, but Wutai was more than impressive; it was stunning.

Even the bar was beautiful. No dark hole lined with bottles and barrels this; instead it was a large airy room with a mass of greenery in one corner, offsetting a burbling fountain. Bonsai trees lined the far wall, and on the opposite wall the bar itself was made of richly coloured redwood.

Reno and Rude were sat at the middle table, cans of Shin-Ra Lager in front of them. Elena sank down onto the stool beside Reno and looked round. The place was nearly empty, but she supposed it was a little early for most people to be drinking. She glanced at the only other person in the bar, a man dressed in a strange looking blue outfit with a silver badge on his hat. As though sensing her gaze he turned and gave her a look of such malevolent fury she cringed and hastily turned her eyes back towards the table.

"Undou-ka" Reno said abruptly, noticing her consternation. "Political party. They hate Shinra."

Elena blinked, somewhat surprised at being spoken to. The Turks had remained nearly silent on the journey over, all three busy with their own thoughts. Elena had considered bringing up the subject of her apartment to Reno, but she had noticed the subtle melancholy that lay beneath his usual smirk and insults and had refrained. 

"……… under funded and unpopular …….." Rude added, before drinking deeply from his can.

"Oh, I see. So, um, not a threat?"

"Nope. We keep 'em around to make it look like a democracy. Everyone knows Godo's just a figurehead, but they'd still rather vote for him than that group of nutters." Reno snorted. "You wait, Rufus'll get rid of them and stick a squadron of Guards here instead, the Wutaian's will get pissed and we'll end up putting down a revolution or three. Bimbo-boy has no subtlety."

Elena nodded, remembering President Rufus's speech when he had assumed the title. "I guess force is just as expensive as … as … what President Shin-Ra did?"

Reno shrugged. "Probably more. Don't really care, as long as _I_ get paid mind you, but I still think he's an idiot." He picked up his drink and then added, with a grin. "Of course it's all moot since we're gonna be dead within a month anyway."

"I'm sure Shinra will deal with Meteor and Sephiroth." Elena said loyally. "And Avalanche for that matter. After all they - "

Behind her the door swung open. She automatically twisted to see who had come in, and she choked on the rest of her sentence.

"Yy, you!? How did you get here...?" Recovering herself abruptly she jumped to her feet, confronting Cloud, Tifa and Cid angrily. "Never mind that. I guess it's fate that brought us together. Get ready to die!!"

Reno raised an eyebrow at Rude who shook his head quietly and took another sip from his drink. Elena didn't notice, as Avalanche had jumped past her, drawing weapons and assuming fighting stances in a glittering display of skill and speed. She followed their movements, ready to defend against their first attack when Reno spoke.

"...Elena, you talk too much." 

"Ww, what?" Elena clenched her fists tighter. She couldn't have done something wrong _again_ could she?

  
"What are we doing way out here in the middle of nowhere?" Reno said mildly, as though there weren't three dangerous and armed terrorists stood about two metres from him.

"We're taking our vacation and resting up from our work." Elena replied quickly.

"Now our vacation is ruined." 

"B, but..." Elena looked helplessly at Avalanche. They were the bad guys! She was supposed to be fighting them! She remembered how she had fallen down the hill last time she had confronted them and heat rose in her face as a mixture of anger, embarrassment and confusion claimed her.

"...even the booze tastes bad now." Rude said emotionlessly, completely ignoring Avalanche.

"...sorry..." Elena sat back down, shaking. The sudden change in the two male Turks attitude had disorientated her, and she was horribly aware of the blue-uniformed man sniggering quietly at the bar.

"Drink, Rude! How long have we been a team...?" Reno raised his can dramatically.   
"There have been hard times being a Turk, but all in all, I'm glad I did it. I even got to meet a bunch of wing nuts like you." He smirked and took a gulp from the can.

"Hmm, you're lucky all right. Now get out of my sight!" Elena tried to regain some of her composure by snapping at Avalanche. She knew she wasn't included in Reno's toast. _Not that I want to be of course. Wing nut indeed - he's probably drunk anyway!_ "The next time we meet I won't be so nice."

Cloud slung his sword over his back and gave her a faintly disdainful look before stalking out of the bar. 

"To the Turks... To Reno... cheers!" Rude raised his own can, before emptying it in one long swig. Elena shook her head miserably and went to the bar to buy a drink of her own.

-~-~-~-

Junon was a mess. Massive wires and cables coiled in wild abandon, blocking roads and covering windows. Junon guards stood to attention, somehow managing to broadcast sulky resentment through the emotionless uniforms. They watched with anger as the thing that Junon was most famous for, it's pride and joy, was airlifted slowly out of it's clamps and sprockets and into the sky.

Junon canon was being taken to Midgar.

And Junon was not happy about it.

-~-~-~-

Returning to the table with her drink, Elena was surprised to find sudden resentment building up in her. She contemplated her fellow Turks silently, her thoughts bubbling inside her.

__

No wonder they haven't been able to catch Avalanche! Would Tseng have just let them walk out from under his nose if he'd been on holiday? Of course not! He was responsible and dedicated, not like these two! They call me_ hopeless? They're the ones disappearing down the bar, or messing around with women when there's work to be done! They call themselves Turks? I bet real Turks wouldn't act like this!_

The door slammed opened again, and Elena twisted round, hoping it would be Avalanche again so she could show Reno how a real Turk would deal with them. To her disappointment it was two Shinra Guards.

"So our reports were right! He IS here on vacation!" the Guard spun and faced Reno. "We've finally found him! Get the Turks here for back-up!" 

"...what a drag." Reno signalled to the bartender to bring more drinks.

"Ww, what was that...?" the Guard spluttered.

"Right now we're off duty and can't run off to save your butts." Reno said coolly, watching the bartender out of the corner of his eye as he measured out drinks. 

"We know you're off duty, but..." 

"If you knew that, then don't bother us! Lookin' at you is makin' me sober." 

"But you all have orders from headquarters to look for him too!" the Guard said desperately, trying to work his superiors sudden failure into his world view.

Reno emptied the can and waited impatiently for the next round to arrive.

"All right, that's it! We'll get him without any help from the Turks, just you see!" the Guard drew himself up with indignation, well aware that he was challenging the Turks and adrenaline spurting through his veins as a result. He spun on his heel and walked out, leaving the Turks to their drinking. Then a sudden thought grasped him and he turned back.

"And don't think that headquarters isn't going to hear about this!!" Having delivered the parting blow he hurried off.

Elena looked at Reno angrily.

"Reno, do you think that was really such a good idea!? I mean is that the way a professional, a Turk would act!?" 

"Elena. Don't misunderstand." Reno said. "A pro isn't someone who sacrifices himself for his job. That's just a fool." 

__

Was Tseng a fool then? Is that what you're saying?

"Rude...?" Elena turned to the silent man.

"........." Rude looked at the tabletop. He had to agree with Reno.

"Well, I don't buy that! Goodbye!!" Elena jumped to her feet and hurried out of the bar. If she was quick she could catch the soldiers and help them with whatever their mission was.

"........." Rude looked after her.

"Relax." Reno nodded as the bartender finally brought over the drinks. "She's not a child. Let her have her way now..."

-~-~-~-  


Elena spotted the Guards as they approached a strange looking building on the North-West side of town. It was a square, open building with a metal gong inside. She hurried up to them, just as the Captain rang the gong. 

"I'm here to give you backup!" she called, as she reached the building. The noise of the gong reverberated around the square and she stopped short as a part of the wall swung away revealing a secret entrance.

"Wow!"

"Shh!" the Captain jumped over the edge of the wall and took the advance position at the head of the squad. "We don't want to alert them. I've split the group into two, we'll take this entrance and they'll take the front. Get in rank please, and be prepared to fight! Don Corneo has quite a few hoods working for him."

Elena joined the ranks of Guards, and breathed deep, closing her hands into fists. She felt strangely excited, and realised it was because this was essentially her first real combat mission. She looked sideways at the Guards beside her, and wished suddenly she'd been able to join the army instead of the Turks.

The small group marched through the open door into blackness. 

-~-~-~-

Yuffie Kiseragi bounced through Wutai, her weapon, pockets, socks, and armour stuffed with materia. She needed somewhere to hide, and fast. She ran towards the Pagoda on the far side of town wondering if Gorky would let her hide in there. 

Suddenly she pulled herself round as she noticed the shrine to her left. There was an open door! Without stopping to think she dived through it and slammed it shut behind her. The inside was almost total blackness, but that didn't worry her - there was nothing in Wutai she needed to be scared of.

"Who was that?" a male voice asked from behind her. Yuffie blinked and shrank against the door. Come to think of it, where had this secret entrance come from? It hadn't been here last time she was in Wutai. She cursed silently to herself.

"I don't know sir!" another male voice said brightly.

Yuffie started to edge along the wall, hoping to find another door. Suddenly her legs hit a low box and she tripped, staggering forwards and landing flat on her face. Materia scattered everywhere.

"Bugger!"

"Captain! Over there!"

A sudden burst of machine gun fire lit the room, and Yuffie was shocked to see an entire squad of Guards standing in the centre and firing wildly at her. She let out a yell of protest, and rolled sideways out of the main line of fire. The room went dark again as the guards stopped shooting.

"What's all the noise down here?" A gruff voice spoke from higher up in the room and light flooded the place again, this time from the lamps set in the walls. 

"Shinra! Warn the Don!" the man at the top of the stairs yelled and dived back through the door. 

"Avalanche!" Elena yelped as she saw Yuffie sprawled across a crate.

"Don Corneo's gang!" yelled the Captain, firing after the man as he disappeared out of sight,

  
"No! Shinra!" Yuffie somersaulted back to her feet and threw her Shuriken at the Captain as he fired up the stairs. He let out a grunt as the mighty throwing star pin wheeled into him and spun back to Yuffie's hand, then collapsed to the ground, blood spilling from the wound.

Elena jumped to attack Yuffie, slamming her fists into the young ninja's face and sending her flying backwards. 

"Materia!" the Guards gaped at the green, yellow, blue and red orbs as they rolled across the floor. Yuffie gave a shriek. "They're mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!"

Elena tried to punch Yuffie again, but the Ninja leapt over her head and started to scoop up the materia, stuffing them into her pockets and dodging the Guards blows with lightening fast movements. 

"I don't believe it! Summon Materia!" one of the Guards grabbed a red materia off the floor before Yuffie could reach it, and turned on her. He opened his mouth to call the God, and the materia burst into flame. 

He screamed as the fire caught his hand, raced up his arm, spread across his shoulders, down his torso, burning him alive. He screamed and screamed, as his face melted into a skeletal parody made of ash, as his flesh fell off his bones, as his very being burned away. He screamed, and even as the pile of ash fell to the floor where he had stood Elena thought she could still hear him screaming.

The smell of burnt flesh curled through the air.

Yuffie stood and gaped at the spot where the man had been. The idea that a materia could turn on it's wielder had never occurred to her.

For a moment the rest of the Shinra Guards stared at the pile of ash. Then as one they turned on Yuffie. The Ninja dodged and parried, swiftly collecting up the rest of the materia as she danced around the room. 

Elena swallowed as she looked at the ash. She knew what had happened - the SME, the Summon Materia Effect, had taken place despite Hojo's insistence that it didn't exist. The God's _were_ sentient, and they would not let themselves be used by those who harmed the Planet. Elena felt sudden doubt hit her as she looked at the Ninja who represented Avalanche. If the God's were on their side, maybe they were heroes after all? 

"You dumb Shinra!" Yuffie threw her Shuriken at one Guard, kicked out at a second and head butted a third. "I've got all my materia back now, so you can't steal it from me! Nyah nyah nyah!"

Elena shook her head. No! She was a Turk, and she couldn't concern herself with right and wrong, or what the Planet felt. She had to do her job!

She ran forward and caught Yuffie around the waist, taking her by surprise and slamming her down into the ground. Then she pulled out her gun and aimed it at the Ninja's head, breathing hard.

"Don't move Kiseragi!"

Yuffie gritted her teeth as she looked into the barrel of the gun. She wondered briefly if Godo, her father, would care that she'd been killed by Shinra.

Elena looked down into Yuffie's face, set in an expression of fury. Her finger trembled on the trigger, tensing and untensing. Could she shoot a sixteen year old girl in cold blood? Even if they were a member of Avalanche? Even if they had been responsible for Tseng's death? 

For a moment the pair were caught in a strange tableaux, frozen in time as Elena struggled with herself. And then two strong arms suddenly clamped round her, twisting her arm backwards and forcing the gun out of her hand. She yelped, and tried to pull free, but the man lifted her off the ground and she was left kicking wildly at thin air.

"Let go of me!"

Yuffie stood up, grinning at the Turk as she was held in the air, struggling desperately. 

"Well thanks pardner! Don't know who you are, but I guess you saved m - HEY!" she too was grabbed from behind and hoisted into the air by a muscular man. "What in the name of Leviathan d'ya think you're doing!?"

The secret door in the wall slid open again, and Cloud, Cid and Tifa came running into the room. They gaped at the sight of Yuffie squirming in the mans grip.

"Let go! I SAID let GO! Hey! Who do you think I...... OW! What're you doin'...? Jerk!" Yuffie tried to bite the man as he turned and carried her further back into the room, but was unable to twist her head round far enough.

"You......!" Cloud had chased the man, but now he stopped short and his face went crimson. Yuffie craned her head to see what he had seen.

".........ho.......... .......................ho............" Don Corneo surveyed the room with glee. One of his gang held a small blonde with a nice butt and an angelic face, the other held a slim, leggy young girl with her shorts unbuttoned! The Don was practically dribbling at the sight, and the scene was made even more delectable by the sight of two of the three people who had threatened him so brutally back in Midgar. "Hohi, hohi! Hohihi!" 

"Corneo!?" Cloud glowered furiously at the fat man with the peroxide mohican. 

"Hohi!" Corneo did a mocking curtsy, remembering how Cloud had been dressed the first time he had seen him. "I've finally got a new chicky! Two for one, in fact! Hohi, hohi!" 

"Two!?" Cloud looked past the Don and saw Elena pulling against the grip of the other member of Corneo's gang.

"H..... hey! Let go of me! You're gonna regret this!!" Elena wailed, as she was carried up the stairs and out of the storeroom, the man carrying Yuffie following her cheerfully.

"There there angel" the man laughed. "Boy I'd like to see what you've got hidden beneath that suit of yours!"

"You'll be sorry!" Elena was barely aware of the opulent surroundings she was being carried through, until she heard marching footsteps and the two men suddenly darted sideways into a room and allowed a group of Shinra Guards to go marching past outside. Elena tried to call out, but a sudden rough smelly hand was clamped down over her mouth and she gagged instead.

"Shut up!" the man hissed. Elena rolled her eyes round and saw Yuffie similarly restrained from calling out. 

The guards passed, and the two men slid out of the room, ran along the corridor and out of the mansion. Elena saw the building recede as she was carried across the courtyard and realised there was only one thing she could do.

She bit as hard as she could, drawing blood. The man gave a yelp and dropped his hand from her mouth. She took her chance and screamed as loud as she could;

"Reno! Rude! Help me!"

Her voice echoed around the yard, and a flock of birds took off from the roof of the shrine, startled. The man carrying her swore volubly and pulled her own gun out of his trouser belt and pointed it at her face. "Not another peep!"

She glared at him, wondering if the other Turks had heard, if they had cared. 

-~-~-~-

Reno and Rude blinked as their names reverberated around Turtles-Paradise. 

"What…?" Reno began, but Rude was already on his feet and racing towards the door. Reno grabbed the whisky bottle and followed him, peering round his friend as he stood in the entrance, shielding himself from outside sight by the doorframe.

"Crap." Reno whispered as he saw Elena being carried into the Wutaian forest. 

"… attack."

"Can't, he's got a gun to her head."

They watched the trees swallow the strange procession up, and Reno looked up at his companion. "What's that way?"

"Da Chao." Rude rumbled angrily. "… those were the Don's men."

"Crap." Reno said again, and walked out into the sunlight. "Where the heck are those guards? C'mon." 

The two went swiftly through the city until they reached the north-western area. Of the guards there wasn't a sign.

"Useless. Absolutely frikkin' useless!" Reno swore. "If they've taken 'Lena hostage then - "

He stopped as Don Corneo ran out of Godo's mansion and yanked out his electro-mag rod. The Don froze at the sight of the two furious Turks and then turned and ran towards the Pagoda. Reno and Rude promptly started chasing him, but the Don swung round in a tight circle, zigzagged across the courtyard and disappeared into the forest after his men. Reno and Rude came to a halt at the exit from the courtyard, knowing that to follow him into the trees would be hopeless.

"......Elena." Rude said flatly.

"Hmm.... that Corneo is good at escaping..." Reno glared into the trees.

"......Elena." 

"Let's go, Rude. We'll give them a taste of what the Turks can do." 

Rude nodded and ran out of the courtyard and out of sight. 

"......Sounded pretty good." Reno turned and faced the three members of Avalanche that had emerged from the Don's mansion a few seconds before. "If Elena is in his hands, that's going to make things a little difficult. And uh..." 

"......Ok. Corneo took Yuffie from us." Cloud hesitated, unwilling to admit to the gap in his defences. "And without Yuffie, there's no way to get our materia back." 

"Don't misunderstand." Reno said, silently filing the new information he'd gained about Yuffie and materia away. "We have no intention of joining you. But for now, we'll agree not to bother each other. That's all." 

"That's fine. We have absolutely no intention of cooperating with the Turks either. Now, uh, just what direction did Corneo run off to?" 

"Hmm, nice attitude. Here's a clue, it's the place that stands out the most." Reno smirked, and turned and ran after Rude.

-~-~-~-

Elena and Yuffie were manhandled up the great carved mountain of Da Chao, their threats and protests making no difference to the two men who carried them. They stumbled round treacherous paths and finally stopped in front of one of the giant faces made of stone. It's eyes were closed and set into the reddish stone of it's eyelids were two metal clamps. 

"What have you done to Da Chao!?" Yuffie shrieked, sounding genuinely upset. The Don's men ignored her, fastening a length of rope around the wrists of both her and Elena, hoisting them across the ear and cheek of the massive face and clamping them to the eyes of the silent carving. Yuffie was outraged, swearing blindly at the men.

"Hush up pet," one said sternly. "The Don'll be here in a minute."

As though to prove him right the Don ran round the path and smiled lecherously at the two women chained above him. Then he hastily followed the path round until he reached the tips of the fingers of a giant, outstretched stone hand.

"Hohohi! My trap is finally complete! And you two chickpeas make such beautiful prisoners! At last I am a master of women again! Hohihohi!"

"You jerk!" Yuffie spluttered with rage. "Look at what you've done to Da Chao!"

-~-~-~-

"You're finally here. We're gonna split into two." Reno said, as Cloud, Tifa and Cid finally came into view. "You do whatever you want. But don't endanger Elena. Don't worry. We won't do anything to that girl, Yuffie." he paused and then added "For now..." He raised his hand in a mock salute and hastened up the path.

Da Chao was a maze of steep mountain paths, carved heads, arms and caves. Monsters lived amongst the rocks, jumping agilely from outcropping to outcropping and landing unexpectedly in front of travellers. 

After Reno, Rude and Avalanche had searched the mountain there were markedly fewer monsters. 

-~-~-~-

The Don contemplated the two women chained to the rocks. Blood pumped round his body and fire burned in his groin. As though sensing his heat Yuffie started to struggle and scream again.

"LET... ME...... GO!!!!" she yelled, as though hoping to convince him by sheer volume. The Don laughed and rocked backwards and forwards on his feet.

"Hmm! Delicious... scrumptious! I think I've found a new HOBBY!" he laughed again. "Which shall it be? Hmm... Hmm..." He strolled down the palm of the stone hand and shook a finger at Elena. "Should I go... with HER?" 

"He... hey, I'm one of the Turks! Don't you think you can get away with this!" Elena recoiled from the thought of the fat debauchee.

The Don walked back down the hand and shook his finger at Yuffie. "Or... maybe... HER?" 

"Oh GAWD! If I knew this was gonna happen, I would've taken rope escape lessons more seriously!!" Yuffie struggled even harder against her bonds.

"Hmm!!! I've made my choice! My companion for the night will be......" The Don paused and both Elena and Yuffie fell still and silent as they waited for sentence to be passed. "...the cheerful one!" he turned to Yuffie.

"GROSS-NESS!" Yuffie's voice hit a new decibel level. "Don't mess with me old man! You don't even have any Materia!" 

"Oooooh! And she's saucy, too! Wheee! Wheee!" the Don did a little dance, moving his pelvis back and forth. 

"All right, that's it!!" Cloud's voice carried clearly through the air to the Don, who turned in shock.

"Hee-haw. What... what's goin' on!? Who's there?" 

Cloud walked out onto the huge stone wrist, drawing his sword with a practised flourish. Elena sighed. How typical she should be rescued by Avalanche instead of the Turks.

-~-~-~-

Don's men stood in the shadow of the mountain, sharing a cigarette. They had heard the Don's pronouncement and had retired to discuss who got first dibs on the blonde Turk. They were having a fairly heated argument when the rock bounced off the mountain beside them. 

"Huh?" the first turned, and blinked at the sight of the two men silhouetted against the Wutaian sky.

"……… you took Elena" Rude said emotionlessly.

"Well, uh, it was just a - "

"Plus," said Reno "You totally wrecked our vacation."

The two men turned to run, but it was too late. The sparking rod and rock hard fists sent them smashing into the mountain side and they collapsed unconscious. 

"……" Rude turned and looked up towards the hand on which Don Corneo stood, gesturing dramatically at Avalanche. Suddenly a great bird dropped from the sky and attacked the three terrorists. Reno nodded thoughtfully and pulled the whisky bottle out of his pocket.

"…?" Rude looked at him.

Reno leant down and smashed the bottle against the head of one of the Don's men. He examined the long spikes of glass for a second and then snapped off one that was a slender triangle, with two long edges and one short. He tested the point with his finger and then handed the sharp blade to Rude.

"Okay. Let's go."

-~-~-~-

Cloud delivered the killing blow to the bat-like lizard creature of the Don's and turned to the man who had backed away to the furthest tip of the fingers.

"Wait..." The Don cringed. "Just wait a second!" 

"SHUT UP!" Cloud yelled, with real anger. 

"Just listen to me - it won't take long. Why do you think a bad guy like me would swallow his pride and plead for his life? One… Because he's ready to die. Two… Because he's sure to win. Or three… Because he's clueless?"

"Because he's clueless." Cloud said contemptuously. 

"Hmm...! Close, but no cigar...!" 

Elena let out a sudden shriek as the clamp fastened around her waist started to rotate. The world spun around her and suddenly she was upside down, hanging over a great chasm.

"Makes me so MAD...!" Yuffie yelled as she too was suspended upside down.

"If I push this button, they'll fall upside down, and we'll have SQUASHED TOMATOES!" the Don laughed again, pleased to be back in charge of the situation.

"Damn!" Cloud swore.

"Coward!" Tifa said, fists clenched.

"So this is how a loser lives…!" Cid dragged furiously on his cigarette. 

"Now, give me your women too! Ha, ha, ha, ha! I guess I'm the one laughing last!" 

"No, that would be us." If Cloud's voice had been clear and angry, this one was quiet and amused. The Don looked staggered.

"Hee-haw. What... what's goin' on!? Who's there?" 

Reno strolled from out of the shadow of the mountain, past Avalanche and stopped on the thumb of the giant stone hand, slightly above the rest of the group. Not quite close enough for the Don to do something stupid, but close enough to appear threatening. 

"...The Turks!" for the first time, the Don's voice took on a note of fear.

"You knew this was gonna happen ever since you leaked that secret." Reno said calmly. "We're going to take care of you... personally." 

"DAMMIT! Then they're all goin' with me!" 

Rude darted out of his own hiding place, across the chasm which separated him from Reno and the Don. Flicking his wrist the triangle of glass spun through the air and embedded itself in the Don's chest, sending him staggering back, off the edge of the hand and into space. His hands went out automatically, catching hold of the stone index finger. He hung, suspended over the same chasm he had threatened to drop Elena and Yuffie into, his shirt staining red around the glass stuck in his chest.

"Good timing, Rude." Reno said, glancing briefly towards him.

Rude raised a hand. "...Let's get to work." 

Reno hopped off the thumb and strolled to where Don Corneo dangled, his breath hanging raggedly in the air. He looked into the mans round, frightened face, lifted his foot and placed it squarely on the Don's fingers as they clung to the rock.

"All right, Corneo. This'll be over quick, so listen up." He smiled faintly, and mimicked the Don's phrasing from a few moments ago. "Why do you think we went to all the trouble of teaming up with those guys to get you...?" 

Reno held up a finger. "One. Because we were ready to die." He held up a second finger. "Two. Because we were sure of victory." He held up a third finger. "Three. Because we were clueless" 

The Don gulped as the Turks foot pressed harder on his fingers, feeling the pressure on the bones in them. Sweat ran into his eyes, as he made his guess, the only answer it could possibly be for the cocky, laidback Turk.

"Two... Number two?" 

"All wrong." Reno put his full weight on the Don's fingers, heard the satisfying crunch as the bones broke.

"No...! Wait, sto......!" 

Reno stepped back.

The Don fell.

Reno, Cloud, Tifa, Cid, Rude, Elena and Yuffie listened to his scream echo up the chasm, replaced abruptly by a sudden wet silence.

"The correct answer was..." Reno pushed his sunglasses further up his head. "...because it's our job." 

"Oh, thank you very much...!" Elena said angrily, and then changed tone somewhat. "I never expected you to come help......" 

Reno turned to her. "Don't act so weak. You're a Turk!"

"Y... Yes, sir!" 

Cid leant on his spear, and spoke gruffly, saving Elena from further embarrassment. "I guess, thanks for today." 

"......" Rude straightened up, somewhat surprised by the gratitude. He glanced at Tifa, wondering if she was also going to thank them. As though sensing his gaze was on her, the dark haired woman looked away, towards Wutai.

Reno's PHS beeped. He answered it reluctantly, suspecting Heidegger would be on the other end.

"Yes... this is Reno." He paused, listening to Heidegger rant. "Yes... Yes... I'll get on it right away." 

"Was that the company?" Elena asked, trying to maintain some semblance of professional dignity whilst hanging upside down over a chasm.

"Yeah, they want us to find Cloud..." Reno put the PHS back in his pocket and debated what to do. Cloud, who had been almost relaxed for a moment, had once again unsheathed his sword.

"Are we on...?" Rude enquired.

Reno looked up at the sky, at the meteor that hung like a historical full-stop, ready to finish off the Planet. He swept a hand through his hair and dropped his gaze to Cloud's mako-blue eyes. 

"No, today we're off duty." 

-~-~-~-

AN: *pokes chapter* That ended up… long. Oh well, that's the Wutai chapter ^^;; 


	43. Revolution

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Forty Three: Revolution!

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Elena woke with a start, jerked from a vague nightmare in which Don Corneo danced like a madman round Da Chao. Sunbeams played across her face and shone gold highlights into her hair. 

She was in the Wutaian inn room, Rude's snores reverberating around its wooden walls and obscuring the bird song from outside. She sat up and glanced at her fellow Turks thoughtfully. Reno was in the next bed along, sprawled amongst the covers with wild abandon and twitching at random intervals. Rude was in the third bed, flat on his back, arms by his side, cover spread neatly over him and his mouth open.

Slipping out of bed, she took her clothes off the chair where she had left them neatly folded last night and headed for the bathroom.

She showered and dressed quickly, and was brushing her hair when she stopped and looked at herself in the mirror.

Big brown eyes framed with thick lashes stared out of a small, pale face. Her blond hair, grown longer on the right and carefully styled into a kind of asymmetrical bob, framed it, the hair on the left tucked neatly behind an ear and revealing a single silver earring. The Turk suit seemed to emphasise her skinny frame, folding up around her narrow shoulders. 

She looked about as threatening as a church mouse.

She frowned slightly, and tried to pull herself upright and look bigger than she really was. With her arms hanging loosely by her sides and her legs slightly apart she tried to assume a hard expressionless look.

"……… Let's get to work," she said, keeping her voice as flat as she could. It didn't work; she broke up in giggles at the sound of herself.

When she stopped laughing, she sighed. And then slumped casually into a relaxed posture, one hand in her pocket, the other sweeping through her hair whilst her face took on a cruel smirk.

"All right Corneo," she sneered. "This'll be over quick, so listen up!" 

She turned away from the mirror and stepped toward the bath, gesturing with one hand. "Why'd you think we went to all the trouble of… of… " she hesitated, trying to remember what he'd said next.

"Rude you bastard! You're snoring _again!_" the sudden furious yell from outside the bathroom brought her back to reality. There was a crash from outside and she hastened to the door, unlocking it and peering round the edge.

A fountain of feathers obscured the two battling figures briefly, but when it cleared she saw Reno and Rude thumping each soundly around the face with pillows. Already one had rent in two, and a lamp had been sent flying from the bedside table to shatter on the floor.

"Guys! Guys! Stop it!" she called out, but Reno grabbed another pillow and sent it flying at her. She shrieked as it caught her in the face, and without thinking jumped into the fray.

"I'll get you for that Reno!"

-~-~-~-

__

He sat cross-legged, his spine aching with the fatigue caused by hours of holding him ramrod straight. Every time he felt himself start to slump with exhaustion there came the stick, striking him firmly on his back and forcing him back upright.

Listen, they said. Listen, and if you're lucky the Planet will speak to you. 

So he listened. The wind rustled the leaves as they drifted from the trees and heaped along the ground. He wondered if it was message. The rain tapped gently on the roof of the temple, incessant white noise, and he wondered if it was a message.

The rain drummed. Soldiers marched in ranks, carrying the Shin-Ra flag. The first army in the world to fight, not for their country, not for their family, not for love or hate, but for the right to make money. He watched them as they marched through the mountains toward Wutai. Less than four hours later the City would be aflame. He turned away and slipped down to the Shin-Ra boats as they bobbed in the sea.

The rain drummed. He kept his gun trained on the fat man behind the desk. Outside the Sector Five reactor spat clouds of acrid smoke into the sky, in time to the steady roar of machinery that never stopped. The roar that you became as accustomed to as your own heartbeat. It resounded through his head, the thump thump thump of his heart, the thump thump thump of the reactor. Was it a message?

She screamed, screamed at the white hot flash of the knife as it severed her jugular vein and her scream became a drawn out gurgle as blood pumped into the air. He felt the tears that threatened to spill as he watched her die. He had loved her.

Too much noise. The screams drowned out the rain. He couldn't hear, had stopped listening. There was no message. A green-lit figure filled Marlene's bedroom with radiance, reached out to him and spoke. Her lips moved, so clear. Two syllables. She repeated them desperately. But he couldn't hear! The screaming was too loud! He shouted out for them to stop, to be quiet so he could hear. And sudden silence fell, the rain, the drums, the reactor and his heart all stopped. Into the silence came a single, sweet voice;

"Listen…."

"Tseng!" the voice splintered the dream and he awoke abruptly, Turk reflexes sending him rolling out of bed as his hand went automatically for his gun - which wasn't there.

"Damn!" he kicked away the blanket, which he had dragged with him and found himself staring at a very surprised looking Elmyra. At the door of the bedroom Marlene broke up into laughter at the sight of the sleep-sodden Turk knelt in the middle of the floor and groping for a non-existent weapon. 

Elmyra blushed and stammered out apologetically. "I'm sorry, you were crying out… I thought you might have been having a bad dream!"

Tseng stood up, flushing slightly himself as he heard Marlene's giggles. "I see…"

"Are you okay?" Elmyra asked anxiously.

"…I …… yes I am. Thank you." Tseng frowned, thinking of the dream.

Elmyra nodded and backed hastily to the door. "I'll leave you alone then," she said, pulling a still laughing Marlene down the hallway.

Tseng watched the door swing shut after her. He wondered suddenly if he should tell her about seeing Aerith. The woman was, after all, her adoptive mother. But the thought of trying to explain the strange apparition made him shake his head. He himself hadn't the faintest idea of what it meant.

He shivered as the dream replayed itself through his mind. For some reason the memory of the screams and the murder barely registered, what filled his mind with a strange sense of foreboding was the drumming, the steady noise that had been the soundtrack to the images. Even now he could still hear it, beating softly in his ears.

What did it mean?

-~-~-~-

Hojo stood back from the operating table, examining his work critically. In a cage in the far corner of the lab a great red feline/canine cross watched thoughtfully through golden eyes. 

The scientist nodded to himself. It would suffice. Its bulk of sinewy muscle was a crude replacement for skill, but he didn't have the time to establish finer details, and the monster would surely prove more than adequate.

He unstrapped it and led it to the metal dome that had held Jenova. The window in the door had been painted over in black, which suited Hojo. The unresisting monster would stay quiet until it was his time, and nobody would look in there by choice. 

Still slumped by the door, the two Soldiers slept on. He had set up an intravenous feeding system to get them through the few days, but now he could wake them up again.

Outside the lab the builders, engineers and labourers worked swiftly and skilfully to create feed lines, cables, support beams and clamps for the great Mako Canon that had been taken from Junon and renamed the Sister Ray. It was botched together as fast as they could manage, and Above Plate citizens protested furiously as wires were ran through their houses, roads ripped up to make way for scaffolding, power sucked from their houses to feed the weapon and drills, cranes and other loud implements of construction that hammered and growled at metal and concrete.

Shinra ignored their complaints.

-~-~-~-

"Holy crap!"

Reno, and Elena both pressed their faces up against the window of the helicopter, stunned at the sight of Midgar. Behind them Rude shook his head once as he regarded the massive canon that spanned the length of the city, held above it all by huge metal frameworks.

"I don't know… you take a couple of days off and they change the whole place around." Reno slumped back from the window with a sigh. "What the hell are they doing with it?"

Elena waved a hand at it. "It's pointing toward the North! Do you think they're planning on blasting Sephiroth?"

"Uh… Could be I guess." Reno suddenly gave a shout and jerked back to the window. "They sank a goddamn metal pole in front of my window! That's my apartment! Right there by that stupid scaffold! What the hell did they think they were doing!? That's _my_ apartment dammit!"

The helicopter passed over the gun and circled round towards the Shinra building. Landing expertly on a pad overshadowed by a great silvery piston, the rotor blades came to a stop and the Turks climbed out.

"I guess we'd better find out what's going on." Elena looked at Reno. "Are you going to tell them what happened in Wutai…?"

"Are you crazy? If they found out we practically joined forces with Avalanche… though I would like to claim my bonus for killing the Don." Reno kicked at the door to the main building, sending it clattering open. "Man, if those Shinra Guards would actually do their job once in a while instead of acting like a bunch of headless chickens."

Rude glanced at the Shinra Guard they were passing and felt a flicker of sympathy. He had once been a Guard, and he knew how difficult it was to work with malfunctioning weapons and poor training, whilst idiotic commanders berated you every minute. They were looked down upon by everyone, and were usually given the task of putting down rebellions and killing innocent citizens. It was a thankless job.

"Wake up Rude!" Reno jabbed the hold button on the elevator. "Holiday's over ya know!"

"………" Rude turned away from the Guard and joined the other two in the lift. 

-~-~-~-

"Will the shells really reach the far northern border?" Rufus flicked a strand of blond hair off his face and turned slightly to regard the tall woman standing in front of him.

"Ah, hah hah!" Scarlet laughed. "Of course!" She turned from Rufus and gestured toward the wide windows that surrounded the President's office. "But Mr. President, please do not call it a Mako cannon. This new weapon will be called... The Sister Ray!"

Reeve pushed the button that ended the transmission to Cait Sith, who in turn ended the PHS call to Cloud. He could feel sweat beading upon his forehead as he took his hand from his pocket and nodded weakly at Rufus.

"I'll go turn up the reactors output then."

-~-~-~-

Reno, Rude and Elena reached Heidegger's office just as the noise of the reactors suddenly doubled. They all paused briefly, unconsciously adjusting to the change in Midgar's background noise. Elena and Reno, both born and raised in Midgar, felt the change echoed deep within themselves, their pulses quickening, and they entered Heidegger's office feeling strangely disturbed.

To the north, deep within the sea, something else felt the change. Weapon swept gracefully upwards through the churning waters, silver finned fish flashing around its great bulk as it broke the surface. A great wave of water cascaded down it and it turned gleaming yellow eyes towards the source of the disturbance and began moving implacably forward.

-~-~-~-

Heidegger was polishing one of the many medals he had won from the war in Wutai when the Turks entered. The increase in the background noise had wrought a similar deep-seated response within him as it had the Turks, and warlike fervour glowed in his dark eyes.

"Sir." Reno made something that could just about be called a salute. Behind him Rude and Elena stood to attention. 

"Gya ha ha ha! You come just in time! We are about to blast Sephiroth to bits!" Heidegger roared. "The President's finest hour!"

"With the Junon canon?" Reno looked faintly sceptical. 

"It has been renamed the Sister Ray." Heidegger bristled slightly at the name. "And the important thing is to keep the Sister Ray safe from Avalanche! The terrorists may have destroyed our every other plan, stolen our huge materia and so on, but they must not be allowed to touch the canon! Gya ha ha!"

Heidegger unrolled a map of Midgar across his desk and pointed at the thick black lines that had been drawn over it to indicate the Sister Ray. "There's guards on each scaffold - nobody will be climbing up those! And there's an entire squadron of Soldier at the main ladder that leads to the manual controls. Gyahahaha! I'd like to see Avalanche get through now!"

"What about the service tunnels?" Elena spoke suddenly, and flinched when Heidegger turned to look at her. 

"Service tunnels?" he repeated blankly.

"They're the tunnels that the repairmen use." Elena replied nervously. "They lead right out to where the ladder is. If… if Avalanche used those they could maybe bypass all the Guards, sir."

Heidegger stared at her. Then he looked at his map. With a pudgy finger he tapped it thoughtfully. Then he glared at the blonde. "I was just getting to that! Gya ha ha ha! Don't presume to correct your superiors!" 

"Sorry sir." Elena turned pink and stared at the floor.

"As I was about to say, " growled Heidegger, "there are still the service tunnels. Which is where you Turks come in! I want you to patrol them until I let you know that Sephiroth has been destroyed! Dismissed!"

-~-~-~-

Hojo walked towards the group of Soldiers stood at the base of the ladder that led to the Sister Ray mainframe. Skin writhed on the backs of his hands, and he put them in the pockets of the white laboratory coat he wore. 

"Sir!" the commanding officer saluted smartly.

"I've been sent by Heidegger." Hojo spoke softly, a faint hiss just detectable under his words. "Avalanche has been sighted at Gate 6. You are to proceed there immediately."

"Yessir!" The commander swung on the squadron of Soldiers. "Quick march! At the double! Hut! Hut!"

Hojo waited until the steady footsteps had tramped out of earshot and then started up the ladder. A strange fervour had gripped him; the Jenova cells that floated through his body were humming savagely.

A swift image of a harsh and commanding face passed before his eyes.

"My son," he whispered softly. "I'll die for you…"

-~-~-~-

The tunnels were badly lit and dirty, similar to service tunnels everywhere. Dotted randomly along them were defence robots, their infra-red sensors glowing alertly as the Turks passed and fading again as they registered the electronic pulse emitted from the key cards each Turk carried somewhere on their persons.

"What an absolutely brilliant idea Elle. Get us patrolling the one place _furthest_ from the action." Reno broke the silence crossly.

"… I just thought…"

"Don't!"

"…"

Reno looked sideways at the woman. She was frowning and chewing her bottom lip. A mixture of frustration and misery was plain for all to see, marring her usually pretty face. He turned away, surprised at his own sudden feeling of regret and then feeling angry with her for making him feel bad. 

__

Stupid blond idiot… what'd I do to get saddled with such a pathetic Turk anyway?

A sudden rumble shivered the building and a deep echoing boom resounded along the metal walls.

"They must have fired the canon." Reno looked up at the ceiling, wishing he could see what was going on. 

They waited, unable to shake the feeling of apprehension that was building inside each of them. Reno lit a cigarette and almost immediately stubbed it out against the wall. There was electricity in the air.

His PHS buzzed loudly and he jumped, before cursing his own nervousness and answering it. Heidegger's voice crackled through.

"The President is dead! Avalanche are approaching! Hojo has taken over the Sister Ray! Reeve has been imprisoned! Midgar has been put under martial law! Gya ha ha ha! We are taking the new weapon down to the Sister Ray mainframe - be on the utmost alert for signs of Avalanche! Gyaaaa!"

Reno blinked, but before he could answer, Heidegger had hit the end call button and the PHS went dead.

-~-~-~-

The two Shinra Guards shoved Reeve unceremoniously into the cell, and the door closed with a crash behind him. He barely noticed the change in his surroundings, so intent was he on his conversation with Avalanche.

"Heidegger is going after you all." He hissed furiously. "That's why it's dangerous out there. Let's go underground!" 

On the tiny screen in front of him were the streets of Midgar, moving along jerkily as Cait jumped toward an alley. Reeve knew Midgar better than anyone, and he led Cloud to the trapdoor that led directly into the belly of the city - inside the Plate.

"Please! Hurry and come to the Mako Cannon!" his voice rose desperately, he was amazed at his own depth of feeling for Midgar. 

"Who are you talking to?"

Reeve looked up, startled. Across the other side of the cell a Shinra Guard regarded him suspiciously. An ex-Shinra Guard, Reeve thought, noting the missing insignia on his shoulders, and the way his hair had grown out from the usual army crew cut. 

"No-nobody…" Reeve stammered, hastily dropping the tiny control device back into his pocket. The Shinra Guard studied him for a moment and then in one sudden movement leapt forward and pinned the hapless engineer against the wall. Reeve struggled against the man's muscle ineffectually. 

The Guard dropped one hand into Reeve's pocket and pulled out the gadget. His eyes were hard as they stared straight into Reeve's face.

"I know you." he spat angrily. "You're the one who designed this bloody cage. And I bet I know why you're here too, you spy!" 

Reeve whimpered.

The Shinra Guard looked down at the screen resting in the palm of his hand. It took a moment before the shrunken figures climbing through the pipes and pillars registered. Then he took a step back, dropped Reeve.

"Avalanche!?"

"Ack…" Reeve said from his crumpled position on the floor. 

"You're in communication with Avalanche themselves?" The guards voice became awestricken. "I thought you were spying on us for Heidegger, but now I see you're actually on our side!"

"Our side…?" Reeve sat up and rubbed at his head.

"Yes! The side of the revolution! Welcome brother!" The guard dropped down next to Reeve and pulled him to his feet, clasping his hand in a rough and manly handshake. "Are Avalanche in the city now?"

"Yes…" Reeve said, somewhat dazed.

"Excellent!" the Guard raced over to the door and called earnestly through the bars to the other cells. "Guys! Joanna! Come listen to Reeve, he's bringing us news of Avalanche, who are in Midgar right now!"

Reeve found himself dragged up to the bars with the Guard and staring out at the line of jail cells. Across from him was another guard and a tired looking woman, pressed anxiously up against the bars. Even the guard that was meant to be watching them had left his post and had hastened up the corridor to listen.

"……… you're all part of the 'revolution'?" Reeve asked.

They nodded resolutely. "About three quarters of the Shinra Guards are in on this, all sympathetic to Scarlet. The only reason we haven't already made our move is because as far as we know all the Soldier are with Heidegger, along with the Turks and some of the robotic military." One of the other Guards took over. "We need to be well prepared before taking them on, so we've been stockpiling weapons and Scarlet's been splitting the forces on Heidegger's side as much as she dares, sending them around the world. Nearly all the Guards stationed in Midgar are revolutionary though. Now tell us about Avalanche!"

"… they're going after Hojo." Reeve wondered how sensible he was being revealing this, but these people sounded genuine. "Hojo's trying to fire the Sister Ray, which would be disastrous for _everyone_ in Midgar… And I asked them to come and stop him…" Reeve hesitated.

"It could be the trigger we've been waiting for."

"Rufus is dead." Reeve looked from the cell opposite to the Guard next to him. 

"Then it really is the trigger," the Guard said, and a fire came into his eyes. "Scarlet and Heidegger will have to fight for control of Shinra… as soon as they've finished dealing with Avalanche, Hojo and Sephiroth that is."

"I'm confused… are you on the side of Avalanche or….?"

There was a pause. Then the Guard turned away from Reeve. "I… personally believe Avalanche were the first to see Shinra for what it is, and battle against them. And if they join with Scarlet perhaps we'll fight together…?"

Reeve closed his eyes, and remembered Barret's story. The woman had shot off his arm, burnt down his village and driven his best friend insane. He doubted they would be fighting together any time soon.

He realised with a sudden sinking feeling that the revolution was little more than a change in regime, making no real difference to the way the Planet was run.

"Perhaps…" he said, and forced a smile.

-~-~-~-

Elena was the first to speak after Heidegger hung up. 

"President Rufus is dead? Whose in charge now?"

There was a silence. 

"Whoever manages to survive the carnage I guess." Reno said, with sudden cheerfulness, as they passed out of the service tunnel and into the subway.

Elena shook her head. "I don't believe it…"

"…….."

The Turks fell silent, and started to walk up the tracks. Reno was grinning to himself, contemplating the chain of events that had started with the attack on the Sector One reactor and seemed to have led to the end of Shinra and the end of the world.

"Oh no! They're here!" Elena's voice broke through his reverie, and he looked up to see that they had somehow found Avalanche.

"What are we going to do!?" Elena remembered what had happened the last time they had met Avalanche and shook her head. "I think it's okay for you to ignore your orders now." 

"...Elena, don't act so weak." Reno said, vaguely amused at her sudden change in spirit.

"We're Turks, Elena." Rude faced Avalanche expressionlessly, but Reno sensed the reluctance within his friend.

__

To die now or to die later? Does it really make a difference?

"...Yes, sir. You're right." Elena also turned to face Avalanche.

"Come on, we've got work to do." Rude said.

"I'm not really up for it, but..." _but it's not like it really matters what happens here. Fight and die. Run and die. _Reno shook his head. _We really screwed up, everywhere along the line. So now we're gonna die for Shinra. What a totally crappy thing to die for._

"Our orders were to seek you out and..." Elena paused. "...Kill. Our company may be in turmoil, but an order's an order. That's the will and spirit of the Turks! Believe it!" 

Rude stared at Tifa. It occurred to him suddenly that being a Turk was worse than being a Shinra Guard in some ways. 

Cloud leaned back slightly and regarded the three navy-suited, unenthusiastic looking figures in front of him. It wouldn't take much to dissuade them, he thought. Their company was in ruins, and with it went their status and their livelihood. 

Of course they had been part of Shinra, and were behind some of the more despicable of the Shinra acts. They deserved death.

And yet… he had once wanted to be a part of Shinra, to be a part of that machine. And Elena's words struck a strange chord within him. After all he had done something despicable whilst 'under orders' himself. He could hardly pass judgement on them.

His eyes sought out Reno's, the man who'd dropped the Plate and killed Biggs, Wedge and Jessie. Did he owe Tifa revenge?

His eyes were bright in an otherwise jaded face, burning with unnatural Mako fires. Not as bright as his own, thought Cloud, and nowhere near the inferno of Sephiroth's. This man wasn't under anybodies control anymore. The real enemy lay elsewhere.

"What are you doing! Let's go!" Elena spoke sharply, angry with herself for thinking of the way Avalanche had come and rescued her from Don Corneo and angry at the guilt she felt as a result.

"No, let's not go" Cloud said quietly.

-~-~-~-

Scarlet and Heidegger were caught up in the spirit of war. The Proud Clod - a huge, Mako powered, Mythril armoured mechanical military robot like no other - stomped destructively towards the Sister Ray mainframe. When Avalanche ran out in front of them they both laughed, the shrill cacophony of noises bouncing and echoing off the inside of the robot. From their height the group looked insignificant and tiny, and they rained insults down on them before sending the robot punching into the ground next to them, the ground breaking up and shaking around the massive metallic fist.

"I'll show you the destructive power of the Proud Clod!" Scarlet shrieked, as they went into battle.

It didn't take them long to realise they had made a serious mistake.

"Bahamut Zero!" "Lightening-3!" "Leviathan!" The magic attacks were interspersed with intensely powerful and damaging slashes from Cloud's great sword, Tifa's whirlwind fists clasped within deadly sharp and hard fighting gloves that smacked pieces out of the Mythril armour and Cid's wickedly long spear that seemed to seek out points of vulnerability in the massive robotic structure instinctively.

It was when the systems began to overload and sparks started to shoot into the two Heads of Department's faces that Scarlet became genuinely worried.

"Not that! This is the Proud Clod............!?" her voice became lost in the whine of the the Mako engine, which had started to glow white hot. She scrambled towards it, ripping out the wires that connected it to the rest of the robot's systems.

Too late.

It exploded in her face, blowing her backwards, smashing her through the metal frame and into the air, caught in searing Mako fire. She screamed, her long nails raking at the air as her skin burned and blistered and metal fragments ripped through her body. She twisted in mid-air and plummeted downwards, smashing into the concrete cobbled ground below. Bones cracked, blood splattered, but it was nothing compared to the white-hot pain that was under her skin, burning away her insides. 

"Not yet! No!" she shrieked, tearing at herself. The pain was too much, and she could feel her soul battling to escape the torn flesh and disappear into the lifestream. "I won't let it!"

Heidegger too was thrown into the air by the force of the explosion, his body canon-balling into the wall and crumpling to the ground. He didn't even have time to cry out before his energy was smashed from him and thrown helter-skelter into the lifestream, mixing and intermingling until there was nothing of him left.

-~-~-~-

It was a Shinra Guard who heard the explosion and came running, a lone Guard who had been on patrol. He stopped short when he saw the blackened, smoking woman crawling down the street, trailing blood behind her. Her skin had cracked and peeled, her hair had been burnt away, and tattered flaming remants of her dress clung to her as she inched painfully towards him.

"Scarlet!" he raced to her, unknowing of what to do, lacking both potion and cure materia, and without the training of a first-aider. She was beyond that anyway, nothing short of a life spell could save her.

Scarlet clutched his arm and stared up at his face. Through a haze of pain she saw a blank Shinra mask.

"Guard…" her voice was hoarse, jerking painfully.

"What should I do?" he was scared, this was his superior and he was unable to save her.

She was going to die, she could feel the energy draining out of her, the pain fading as she did. She struggled to hold on to conciousness, even if she died Shinra must not!

"Don't…" she gasped for air, "Don't let those bastard Soldiers take over!" 

The Guard looked down at her. He knew of course, of the revolution. "Then who?"

Scarlet shut her eyes, trying to run through a list of possibles. There were the Guards she had chosen to lead the revolution, but they were all bloodthirsty, all military. They could win a war, but could they run a society? And then from nowhere came the memory of a soft eyed, brown haired man, holding her tightly as she cried.

"Reeve…" she whispered the name. She knew she was damning him, damning his innocence, but Shinra always came first. 

"Reeve?" the Guard was confused, no mention of the City Builder had ever been made before.

She raised an arm, a weak gesture of dismissal.

"A true revolution… it is time…" and she laughed, choking on blood. 

The Guard listened to her laugh, and when it faded to silence he stood. His palms were sweaty, but his grip on his gun was as steady as a rock as he lifted it above his head and shouted as loud as he could.

"The revolution is upon us!"

-~-~-~-

A/N: I'd say there's no more than two or three chapters left, and of course a rewrite to neaten things up and sort out a couple of continuity errors ^^ 

I liked Scarlet. I'm going to miss her. *sniff* 

  


  
  



	44. Nowhere Safe to Hide

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Forty Four: Nowhere Safe to Hide

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Auberon Ricks was Soldier 1st Class, and as such he commandeered his own squad of Soldier 2nd and 3rd class. He had led his troops to gate 6 upon Hojo's instructions but had found no sign of Avalanche and he now stood in military confusion, with no enemy and no orders.

PHS's did not work well in the slums, and besides he feared the consequences of calling Heidegger. The Head of Department did not look kindly upon questions, no matter what rank the inquirer was. He did not yet know that Rufus, Scarlet and Heidegger were all dead.

He was looking round the haphazard houses for any signs of terrorism when he saw the people.

They were upper-plate citizens, that was obvious. But they clutched possessions to themselves and huddled together, the people on the edge of the group trying to squirm towards the middle whilst they all hastened towards the gate. There must have been thirty or forty, enough to draw attention from the slummers, who stared blankly as they passed.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ricks barked, trying to hide his confusion under a show of authority.

The group muddled itself around, everyone trying to stay out of the spotlight and avoid becoming the spokesperson. Eventually a florid faced, soft looking, businessman stepped forward.

"We want to leave Midgar."

"Do you have permission? Do you have a _key?_"

"………… No sir." the man answered reluctantly.

"Then what in the name of Hades did you think would happen?" snapped Ricks. "We have terrorists in the city right now and - "

Instant panic rippled through the crowd, and a few people began muttering things to each other. Ricks distinctly caught "It's begun…" and "My son told me to get out before they got here!"

" - and you will all proceed back to your homes."

"Back up there?" the businessman gave a terrified look at the rest of the group. "We can't!"

"Why not?"

"Because of the revolution!" a woman at the back of the group burst out suddenly. She was clutching a child to herself protectively. "It's happening! We all have to get out!"

"Revolution!?"

-~-~-~-

The Turks walked slowly back down the tunnel; Reno was smoking, dragging deep breaths of the smoke into his lungs. A horrible, nagging thought had edged into the side of his consciousness; _what next?_

He had rejected Shinra. He wasn't a Turk anymore. Somewhere, somehow, he had overcome Hojo's brainwashing. He was in control of his own fate - and the thought made him shiver. 

He was a terrible person. He had done terrible things, but admittedly he had been under orders at the time. Now he wasn't. What sort of person was he without Shinra? There were so many roads he could take… what if he left Midgar and just went some place and drank himself into oblivion? What would be the point?

__

Just delayed suicide… if you're gonna do that Reno, you might as well have jumped, he thought vaguely to himself. 

He was jerked out of his thoughts by the sight of twelve Shinra Guards running down the service tunnel towards the three Turks. They were all clutching a motley of weapons: Soldier swords, Turk guns, and here and there a specialist stave or knife. Materia orbs glittered.

"What are they - " Elena began, but Reno had already thrown himself sideways, pulling the blonde Turk down with him as the first bullets zinged past. Rude had gone the other way, pulling out his own gun and blasting the first Guard with it. The Guard staggered back, but then kept running. Rude noted the blue Materia gleaming in the slots on the sword he carried. An enhancement materia - tapping into the Planets energy and translating that into every cell of the bearer's body. A powerful one too, considering the Guard wasn't even bleeding from a shot that would normally have torn right through him.

Reno was knelt down, Elena shoved behind him as the Neo-Turk-Light spell crackled through the air, into the centre of the group and ran from body to body. The Guards had been bunched together, and Reno took advantage of that fact, making sure every one got a blast of voltage. 

The Guards separated, some on their knees groaning, others looking as though they had barely noticed the attack. These latter wielded their weapons with grim efficiency, one turning to swing a long blade at Rude, another sending a stream of bullets towards Reno and a third leaping past the red-head and coming violently at Elena with a Mythril-bladed knife, the sharp edge catching her on the arm and slashing a long vertical cut into it. Blood welled up, Elena cried out with surprise, but her other arm was already coming round in a counter-attack, slamming into his face with every ounce of strength she had. The Guard dropped like a stone, out cold.

Reno had taken the advantage in his battle with the gunman, bringing the fight in close and using his electro-mag rod, swinging it up and round, the sparks it generating confusing the guard as he tried to aim his weapon. Reno caught his wrist and pulled the gun up and round so it was jammed into the man's chin and then forced the trigger down. Blood and brains splattered over him and he involuntarily shuddered, as he had never done before.

Rude was ducking and weaving the long sword blade, moving with a speed and agility few would have thought him to posses. As the Guard lunged forward he span round and let him fly past, grabbing him round the waist as he passed and throwing him into the wall of the tunnel. The guard slid to the ground, the sword clattering some distance away. 

The rest of the attackers had gone into retreat, vanishing down the tunnel. 

Elena stared at the headless body that had been a guard.

Reno wiped the back of his hand across his face, trying not to notice the way blood was soaking down into his shirt and running over his chest. The guard Rude had thrown into the wall groaned, and Reno hastened over, grabbing the man, yanking off the helmet and dragging him up to eye-level. The guard opened his eyes and found he staring into a furious face, blood running in rivulets down it, the hair matted with the same sticky red substance.

"What the fuck is going on?" 

"I can't say" the guards voice quavered somewhat; he had heard the stories spread about the Turks and the way they treated prisoners.

Reno reached into his pocket and pulled out his lighter. The guard trembled as the Turk held it close to his cheek and flicked the switch casually. The heat brought sweat to him, not quite close enough to burn, but hot enough to make him feel the amount of pain that could be contained in that flickering light. 

"You attacked us. Tell me why."

Elena watched, her hands over her mouth. Rude was expressionless as always.

"…" the guard closed his eyes, and remembered the feeling of euphoria he had felt when he thought of tearing down Shinra. That was more important than any single guards life, he thought. The plan had said that the enemy should be kept confused and unsure of the scale of this operation for as long as possible. He opened his eyes again and looked calmly into the Turks face.

"I will not say."

Reno had started to shake.

__

Screams…

Burnt and blistered skin… charred black, crumbling at touch… 

How could you? How could you do this? A voice distraught.

"Don't make me do this," he snarled into the guards face.

"I will not say."

__

Eyes, open wide, lost in shock. Lost in themselves. He had driven him into the arms of insanity because he would not say.

Mother…

Mum…

Where are you?

Blood dripped down him. The lighter had gone out.

__

I'm so confused Mum… What am I doing? All I ever wanted was to protect you and Ali and Gerry and Nico. And where are you now?

__

I can't do this.

You did it before.

And it's killing me.

What's one life? He attacked you. You don't even have to kill him. Just make him tell you why.

I can't.

The lighter fell to the floor, and Reno stepped back, letting the Guard go. His eyes were wild, confused, staring into a medley of memories. 

The guard slumped back against the wall, surprised. He had no idea what had just happened, but the Turk who had been about to torture him was now looking like he was about to throw up.

"Reno..?" Elena took a step forward, afraid and worried.

"… Don't…" Reno turned away, his stomach cramping, his eyes blurring. 

__

Be a good boy whilst I'm gone Reno, and look after Ali. 

I will Mum.

A body, left to rot in the streets. Blood ran from the hole in its head.

A kid, torn through by a spike of metal from a falling plate.

A woman, electrified, slumped dead on her husband's corpse.

A frightened teenager, bound and gagged, delivered to Hojo's lab.

"………" Rude turned his head. From the far distance he could hear steady marching footsteps, the beat of ranks of feet hitting the ground in perfect time. The Shinra Guards were coming. "………Elena……… We need to get to the office."

"The Turks office?" she asked, darting a terrified look to Reno's shaking shoulders.

"Yes…… we need to barricade ourselves in……… until we find out what's going on."

She nodded, she too hearing the noise of the marching. Rude turned to the guard still leaning against the wall for support. 

"…… you. Get out of here."

The guard shot him a surprised look and fled. Rude walked determinedly to where Reno was stood and spun him round with one large hand. He took a look at the distraught face that met his, and shook his head. _Not a good time to snap, Reno._

Taking the redhead's arm he pulled him roughly down the tunnel, hearing Elena's quick footsteps following. With any luck they could outrun the army behind them, and get up to the Turks office without meeting any more wild groups of rebels. 

-~-~-~-

Reeve was unlucky. The Soldiers got to him before the guards, their key cards letting them up the levels of the Shinra building faster than the Guards, who had to batter each one down with their rifle butts. Ricks dragged him out, his sword running with blood. It was the blood of Shinra Guards, the battle to get through the army had been violent and fast. He now knew that nearly the entire of Midgar based guards was against him, and that Reeve had somehow been named leader of the revolution.

"Alright traitor! On your knees! What's going on?" he roared, thrusting the city builder to the floor. Reeve stared at the man's kneecaps, clad in shining armour. 

"A revolution?" he offered timidly.

"You worthless maggot! Did you really think you'd get away with this?" Ricks smacked Reeve's head sideways, fury radiating off him. "Rufus, Hojo, Scarlet, Heidegger are all dead and now you're trying to take over the company? Well forget it! You're up against Ricks, Soldier 1st class now!"

Reeve considered this. 

"Now order your troops to surrender!"

"I can't." Reeve said apologetically. "They're not mine."

"Well they sure seem to think they are! Don't try and lie to me!"

Reeve was silent for a moment. And suddenly he realised what must have happened. Scarlet had been behind the revolution - and now she was dead. She must have named him as her successor. 

The sound of marching footsteps echoed through the prison corridors.

-~-~-~-

Elena and Rude dragged the unresponsive Reno into the Turks office and slammed the door shut. They had been hard pressed to reach the room without the guards noticing them, but they had managed, sneaking past the groups stealthily as they had hammered on doors and blasted equipment. The lifts had stopped working.

The scale of it had shocked them. Shinra employees had fled before the massed army of blue, and helicopters were taking off even now, piloted by frightened businessmen and deserting Soldiers. Rude was worried; he knew the guards would be taking out years of petty insults and prejudice on all those ranked above them. A wild army, fuelled by bitterness, would not listen to reason. They would smash and kill everything in sight, and the slummers were bound to join in eventually. The best thing would be to escape the city, but the sounds of helicopters had faded out and he knew the employees had got there first.

__

Good luck to them, he thought grimly. _As soon as the news of this spreads, every town is going to turn against us. There'll be nowhere safe to hide._

Elena was dragging the desks over to the door. Rude joined her, overturning it and sending paperwork everywhere. He felt a brief flicker of pleasure at that, quickly dispelled when he turned to look at Reno. His partner had wound up in the corner of the room, leaning into the meeting point of the walls as thought trying to burrow into them.

His gaze went from Reno to the window, overlooking the destruction of Sector Seven. Above the city burned the great ball of rock that was going to blow up the Planet. From there his eyes went to the barricaded doors, already reverberating to the sound of marching footsteps.

"………" he said.

-~-~-~-

Ricks drew his sword, as the footsteps grew louder. Around him his squad of Soldier drew theirs, the blades catching what light there was and sending it glittering along the sharp edges. They were a formidable sight.

The first ranks of the guards turned the corner, forced into coming two at a time because of the narrowness of the corridor. It was quick work to dispatch them, but after them came two more, and two more, and two more, filling up the space between the prison cells with bullets and roars of anger. Reeve flattened himself against a wall, his dark blue suit merging him into the shadows as the two groups fought. He slid as quietly as he could past the melee, ducking wild sword attacks and somehow evading the bullets that zinged off walls. 

Sliding round the corner he took to his heels, running for the stairs. He didn't have to worry about controlling Cait Sith at least - Cloud had given them all a night to go and find out what they were fighting for. Reeve thought of the two battling groups of men he had just escaped from and then of the millions of slummers below and decided he knew what he was fighting for.

As he pounded up the stairs he suddenly noticed the soot lined walls, and a minute later he'd run out of stairs and into blown apart wreckage. He hesitated; hoping the damage done by Weapon wasn't as extensive as it looked. The windows were glassless, and everything in the room had been blasted apart, lying in misshapen heaps of wood, plastic and metal.

Rufus had died here. A few weeks ago Reeve would have shuddered to find himself in the situation he was now in, but he barely gave it a thought as he hunted for the media controls that had enabled Shinra to patch into every intercom, television and radio across the city. He found it eventually, buried beneath a pile of wreckage and miraculously unharmed, although the wires that had connected it to the control panel had burned right through.

He fumbled in his pocket and brought out his portable toolkit. This was going to take some work. He just hoped he had enough time to fix it before too many people were killed.

-~-~-~-

Tseng was standing in the garden with Elmyra and Marlene when the materia shop owner came running out, clutching handfuls of his wares and swearing loudly.

"What's wrong?" Elmyra asked, hurrying out of the garden and over to the man who spun on her, waving materia - grey materia - in her face.

"Look! All my materia's turned to rock!"

-~-~-~-

A/N: Hope you enjoyed that chapter - and I hope you haven't forgotten Joanna! She pops up again, never fear. Thanks, as always, to everyone who reviewed my last chapter ^_^ Not long at all to go now…


	45. Find Turks Kill Turks

****

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Forty Five: Find Turks, Kill Turks

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

In Hojo's laboratory, animals and monsters stirred at the sound of marching footsteps echoing throughout the Shinra building. The soft whines of creatures in pain became overshadowed by the low growls of bestial unnatural beings that had been disturbed. The smell of blood was in the air, the panic and fury of the revolution being transmitted to the experiments.

Inside the domed structure that had held Jenova _it_ stirred, sensing sublimely that it's time had come.

The Shin-Ra Security system had been a triumph of science, physics and biology combined. Monsters roamed the corridors and many of the rooms, tiny electronic chips implanted in their nervous systems controlling them and allowing them to identify everyone who carried a key card. Tiny computerised systems allowed them to make rudimentary assessments of the carriers to see if they matched their card.

Hojo had subverted the technology; instead of the signal creating a desire not to attack he had made a creature whose sole desire was to seek out the carriers of a specific card signal.

It was a signal emitted by the key cards of those people who belonged to a very special group. This creature had had one goal programmed into its nervous system.

__

Find Turks. Kill Turks.

-~-~-~-

The battle outside the jail cells raged. In that tiny area were crammed a mass of fighting men and women. They fought with desperation and rage; the Soldiers had forgotten their loyalties, all they wanted to do was survive. One by one swords clattered to the ground, their bearers slumping dead, to be trampled and tripped over by the survivors.

Joanna was pressed against the back of her cell, eyes round with fear and shock as the people boiled around her. There seemed to be no way through the flailing limbs: she was trapped in a noisy cage of flesh.

And then, as suddenly as it had begun, it was over. The last Soldier fell and the Guards were triumphant. They stood, somewhat stunned, many of them wounded. Then a victory whoop pierced the air and they were cheering and hugging each other. The air turned green for a while as comrades were cured.

Then the doors to the cells were thrown open and the occupants were dramatically awarded their freedom. Joanna found herself - as the only civilian woman there - the centre of attention. She was at first bewildered and frightened, and then slowly she caught the spirit of goodwill and cheered as enthusiastically as any other person there.

The crowd began to drift away from the cells, looking for other groups of rebels to share their joy with. Joanna managed to separate herself from the main group and headed off to the right. The gun she had been given was clasped tightly in her hand.

She still needed her personal victory.

-~-~-~-

"Reno," Elena said to the young redhead pressed so forlornly against the wall. "Reno, you have to talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."

Reno ignored her, lost in a private world of guilt, pain and death.

"It's no use." Elena said despairingly to Rude. "I don't think he even hears me!"

Rude shook his head. He didn't have any idea how to cure Reno, his suggestions so far having been limited to offering his partner a bottle of whisky. It hadn't worked.

"He looks so lost…" Elena felt tears fill her eyes. "This is all Hojo's fault!"

"………?" Rude looked at her.

"You didn't know? He brainwashed him when he was recruited… And I don't know, but I think it must've… worn off or something! And now he must feel really really bad for all the things he's done!"

"…… brainwashed……" Rude understood, and felt instant hate towards the scientist. 

"Yes," Elena again tried to get through to the Turk. "Reno, it's not your fault!"

Rude walked over to the window and glared at the wreckage of Sector Seven. _It must've really got to him, a view like this everyday._

Suddenly the door rattled, as something hard hit it from the other side. Rude spun to face it, watching the barricade closely. 

The door shook again, and the barricade shifted slightly, pushed away. Elena and Rude glanced at each other.

"It doesn't sound like guards…" Elena said nervously. And as though her voice was a trigger, something gave a furious snarling roar and slammed into the door a third time.

"………" Rude was silent as he checked his materia and prepared to face this new threat.

"You know what?"

"… what?"

"I bet Reno would of said something really dumb or crazy and made us all laugh just then."

"……… probably."

The door burst open, the makeshift barricade shattering outwards. Standing framed in the doorway was a hideous looking thing, thick mottled green skin covering massively over muscled thighs and shoulders, and breaking apart to allow vile yellow spikes to erupt from it at random. Wickedly sharp claws and teeth gleamed, and drool rolled from it's gaping mouth. It stood at nearly eight feet, hunched forward to get through the door and the spikes on it's back dragging through the top of the doorway and breaking apart the frame. 

"……… one of Hojo's." Rude cast fire, but the flames that boiled around the creature did little to damage its thick damp skin.

Elena cast confuse, but the spell was no more successful than Rude's, the monster simply lashed out at her, so fast she couldn't follow the movement. She cried out as the claws slashed deep into her and threw her backwards, bleeding. Rude grunted with fury, and pulled out his gun sending an explosive shot into the beast. It staggered sideways, wounded. Elena took advantage of the distraction and slid away from it, towards her desk. There were potions in the drawer.

Rude lowered the gun slightly and regarded the ragged bullet wound in the creature he had shot. The skin around it was bubbling and stretching unpleasantly, and he realised it was regenerating, and regenerating _fast_.

"………" he shot again, getting it in one swollen shoulder and then again. As he loosed the third one however, it jumped forward, the ceiling crumbling around its spikes as the bullet whistled past it. It slammed straight into Rude, and he rolled over backwards in an effort to escape its flashing teeth and claws that ripped and tore frenziedly.

"Rude!" Elena forgot the potions and her own wounds, running to help. She punched it wildly, distracting it enough to turn on her and send her flying backwards. She slid the full length of the room, slamming into the wall next to Reno. She gasped with pain, automatically reaching for her gun.

It wasn't there. She looked around her wildly and saw it some distance away. It had clearly fallen free when she had flown across the room.

She dived towards it, but the monster was quicker, leaping in front of her and slashing at her face. She was temporarily blinded as blood spilled from the gash marks. 

"Get back!" Rude's voice had lost its emotionless tone as he saw Elena being ripped almost to pieces in front of him. She seemed to be bleeding everywhere, and the gun bucked angrily in his hand as he shot again and again, trying to get this thing to get away from her. The wounds smashed up its body, healing over almost as soon as they appeared. The thing ripped again at the woman in front of him, and Rude gave up on the gun, running forward and leaping onto it's back between the spikes and attempting to throttle it. It was a hopeless task; the tendons in its neck were like steel pipes bulging against his hands. 

Elena backed away, blood spilling from her and leaving a sticky red trail as she moved. The thing was bucking around, trying to get to the man on its back. She wiped the blood from her eyes, knowing that Rude wasn't going to be able to hold on for long. She looked around, searching desperately for something to help. Her gun had slid from sight; her desk was out of reach. 

"Reno!" she grabbed her partners shoulder and shook him desperately. "You've got to help!"

The strange green-blue eyes continued to stare into a reality she couldn't touch. There was no help coming from here. She looked up desperately as Rude finally flew from the back off the creature and crashed into a desk. Then reaching across Reno she pried the electro-mag rod from his fingers and lurched to her feet. 

"Hey! Get away from him!" her voice shook as she shouted, the blood loss was taking its toll.

The thing flicked the figure of Rude aside like a rag doll, and she felt something inside her ice up as she saw his limp body. Her shaking became harder as it paced towards her, hungry, angry eyes taking in her tiny blood soaked figure. 

It leaned forward almost lazily, claws reaching in to tear out her throat,

She jumped, and with all the strength she could muster, drove the electro-mag rod straight into its cavernous tooth-lined mouth, through the roof. Her thumb pushed down on the button and she let go, dropping back to the floor as the slim metal rod delivered its payload of electricity directly into the monsters brain.

It let out a tremendous roar of pain, it's claws raking desperately at its own face as it staggered back, every muscle and tendon twitching horribly in the microsecond before it crashed to the floor, stone dead. 

Elena shuddered uncontrollably, as she stepped around it and ran for her desk. Inside the drawer was the collection of items - potions, armour, materia and a phoenix down. She took the latter and poured it over the prone body of Rude, praying desperately under her breath. To her utmost relief he stirred and then sat up with a groan.

"Rude - Rude you're alright!" she burst into tears of relief.

"…………" Rude looked up at the crying bleeding girl, and then turned and looked at the prone body of the thing. "…… you killed it?"

"I… I… I guess I did." Elena too looked at the fallen monster. "What was it!?"

"……" Rude shook his head. "… an escaped experiment. Well done."

She glanced back at him, surprised. Compliments from her partners were rare to say the least. "Thank you."

"……… you're hurt." Rude took out his cure materia, preparing to cast it. Elena caught his hand before he could start. "Wait!"

He looked down at the smooth orb in his hand. It had all the colour and luminance of a rock.

-~-~-~-

Tseng studied the line-up of grey materia in front of him. A puzzled frown marred his face as he picked one up and turned it over in his hands, looking for any clue, anything at all which could tell him where the energy had gone.

It was flawless, a perfect sphere. Often the ones found wild were irregular, or bumpy, but these had all been sanded into beautiful symmetrical curves, that fitted snugly into armour and weapon slots. 

He dropped it back next to the others and leant back against the wall. Energy could not be created or destroyed; it could only be transferred from one form to another. That was a basic and fundamental law of the Universe. Which meant that the energy contained in the materia could not have just disappeared, it had to have been moved.

But where? And why?

He glanced out of the window, and saw the meteor hanging in the sky above. _Not hanging_, he reminded himself, _falling_.

His religion had taught that the Planet was a sentient being. Research performed at Cosmo Canyon had suggested a similar idea, but the results had been withheld by Shin-Ra. The energy that was the core of the Planet was the same energy that lived inside materia. Did that make the materia sentient?

He reminded himself of the SME - the Summon Materia Effect. The Gods were certainly sentient. 

So, assume then that the materia has a minor awareness of itself. Could it have _chosen_ to leave?

Tseng sighed. That idea seemed ridiculous, even if he stretched his imagination a little. The idea of all the materia energy suddenly deciding to walk out - well, it couldn't happen.

If it couldn't work proactively… it could at least work reactively? After all, it responded to the energy inside a spell caster every time it was used.

Could it react to any source of energy?

The biggest source of energy was that of the Planet itself of course. And he'd already decided to assume that it possessed a form of intelligence powered by the lifestream.

Everything was connected to the lifestream… when people died their souls, their energy entered it. Why couldn't materia energy do the same?

Again he lifted his eyes to the Meteor blasting towards them - so fast, and yet so frighteningly slow.

Did the Planet know Meteor was falling? Was it preparing itself?

Why had Aerith appeared to him?

__

Listen…

Tseng rubbed the back of his neck, reflecting on a number of things. He had been taught the rituals to communicate with the Planet from the time he could walk. The Planet had never chosen to speak to him, but perhaps now it was in trouble…

He sighed and stood up. Collecting together the grey materia he put them in a drawer and left the room. Communication could only exist between a human and the Planet in a state of nature, so he headed for the garden Elmyra and Marlene had taken over and worked on together. It was not ideal - too close to the Mako reactor for one thing - but it would have to suffice.

-~-~-~-

The fight between the Guards and the Soldiers had spilled out of the Shinra building into the streets of upper-Midgar. Knots of people battled everywhere, whilst elsewhere looters smashed windows and set fire to vehicles. Frightened citizens had either hidden, or fled downwards into the slums. Emergency services had broken down, and bodies were left to rot in the streets whilst flames ate everything they could with hungry abandon.

Reeve made the last connection whilst overlooking this chaos. Above him Meteor burned, dying the sky a deep virulent red. He had no idea if it was night or day.

The televisions, radios and intercoms across the city spluttered to life. Some were burnt out husks, some had been smashed, but there were enough to be audible in most places. Reeve took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He hadn't planned what to say, all he knew was he had to take control of this situation and get everyone out of Midgar. His knuckles whitened and he breathed out slowly.

"Guards and Soldiers, citizens of Midgar of both below and above the plate - you are in enormous danger." he began. "I speak to you not as a representative of Shin-Ra, nor as the leader of the rebels. I speak to you as a human being concerned only with getting _everyone_ to safety, regardless of their finances or status. Meteor is falling, and this senseless fighting will not save us from it! Drop your weapons, for if you persist in this battle you will all be killed regardless of who wins."

"Already many of the holders of the keys to the city are dead, and with their deaths goes the keys. I myself hold one, and I ask that all those alive and listening who posses a key to begin to make their way to Sector Three and open the gate there. The rest of you will follow shortly and we will evacuate the city."

"If you can, collect tins of food and medical equipment. Forget about family treasures and money, they are not important."

"The Planet is in great danger, but it is being dealt with by a volunteer group." Reeve's voice began to swell as he spoke of Avalanche. "They are fighting to save your life, whoever you may be. They are fighting for the guards, the slummers, the soldiers and all the people of this city. Let your life be one worth saving. Do your best to help one another. Set aside prejudice. Carry those who cannot walk, heal those who are wounded, protect those who need protecting."

"Together we can deal with this threat to all of us. Apart we can only be destroyed. You are all needed, and you all need each other. Please make sure as many as possible make it to safety, and in return they will help _you_ get to safety."

"We will be evacuating through the Sector Three gate. Thank you."

-~-~-~-

Both Elena and Rude had frozen when Reeve's voice came over the intercom, and it was only as his voice died away that they became aware that Elena still held Rude's hand. Blushing hotly, she dropped it and hurried to the drawer of her desk where she quickly collected together all of her potions and curative items. Rude did the same, but poured several of his over Elena and himself, healing their wounds. Throughout all of this Reno had remained silent and lost.

"Sector Three." Elena attempted to sound businesslike. "We'll have to hurry, since we're key holders."

Rude nodded, and headed out through the destroyed doorframe. Elena took hold of Reno's arm and led him after the tall bald figure.

Joanna detached herself from the wall of the corridor, her gun still held loosely in one hand. She had seen the way the two Turks had held hands throughout the entire of Reeve's speech and her face was twisted with rage. She had _known_ there had to be another woman involved! 

Her plans had altered slightly now. The fight she had witnessed between the two Turks and the strange monster had made her slightly more wary. She had to kill instantly, in a fight she was sure to lose.

She went into the abandoned Turk office, her eyes alighting on the unopened cupboard at the very corner of the room. She tried it, but it was locked. Taking her gun she shot clumsily at the lock, hitting it more by luck than judgement.

Inside the cupboard were ranks of weapons, all easily concealable and all very very deadly.

-~-~-~-

A/N: Another long chapter ^^; If you're wondering why the Turks don't use the weapons from that cupboard a bit more often as opposed to guns and fists all the time, the answer is pretty simple: materia slots/growth, training, and the fact that most of the weapons in the cupboard are specialised assassination tools and fairly useless in hand-to-hand combat.

Reviews (and constructive criticism) welcomed as ever! As soon as LoaE ends I promise you I will be starting on another 'project', which will focus on a multitude of characters from FF7 and will be set after the game. It will be a semi-sequel to LoaE, and will of course have plenty about the Turks ^_~


	46. The Fall of Midgar

A/N: No epilogue after all - it wound up becoming one chapter. I hope this is a satisfactory ending. Comments and thoughts welcomed.

I'll start on the sequel in the New Year. Have a good Christmas and thanks for reading!

The Last of an Elite

Chapter Forty Six: The Fall of Midgar

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Panic had spread through the streets of Midgar, scared citizens locking themselves away or running to the one place that had always seemed invincible - the Shinra building. Only one group of people had not panicked. Reeve's announcement had succeeded in getting through to the Shinra Guards. Having already routed Soldier, they had begun on the traditional orgy of destruction all armies engage in at the end of a battle. Now however, they regrouped and assumed a new role as Midgar's police force, concerned only with the safety of the people around them.

Squads of guards went from door to door, calmly smashing them down and ordering the inhabitants out into the street. Potions and ethers were collected and rationed out with military efficiency. 

Slowly the trickle of people travelling downwards to Sector Three became a torrent, and then a flood. There were a lot of people to move. A splinter group of guards took over the station, organising the frightened people, getting them aboard the train smoothly and without overloading the carriages. It was a triumph of authority, of a near machine like system.

Sector Three began to fill with bobbing white faces; slummers rubbing shoulders with expensive suited Shinra employees, prostitutes pushing their way past society ladies. Voices rose in a low roar of noise.

Rude and Elena worked their way through the crowd swiftly, dragging the unresponsive Reno behind them. Rude pressed his fingers against the suit jacket, feeling the hard shape of the key to the city inside his pocket. The Sector Three gate was just ahead, a tight mass of people pressed up next to it.

The Turks elbowed their way through, Rude finally reaching it, pushing aside an oversized businessman and a seven year old wearing little but rags.

The ground shook.

Rude paused as he fumbled for the card. 

The great mass of people suddenly went quiet. Very quiet.

Above them the plate rattled, sounding much too loud in the silence. The fans set into it span slowly to a halt. 

The reactors had, as one, stopped.

Rude shook his head, and swiped the key card through the lock swiftly. He could feel sweat running down his face and behind his sunglasses. The card slid out the slot noiselessly, no beep, no click.

The door remained solidly shut.

"Let me try!" The businessman grabbed the card from Rude's fingers and brought it down heavily. Again the door remained shut, an impassive barrier to the millions of frightened people.

"… mako powered…" Rude stepped away from the gate and started forcing his way back through the crowd. His thoughts spun wildly.

__

City gates to remain locked at all times… cables to be fully secure from any attempt by the slummers to reach them… no manual lock to be provided in case of tampering. Only manual over-ride to be provided in main Shinra control room…

We're screwed.

-~-~-~-

Tseng sat silently in the garden, legs crossed, back straight. A faint breeze rippled the long black strands of his hair and drifted gently through the leaves. His face was set in stone.

Inside his head, the Planet was screaming. It's pain and fury reverberated around him, and it took every ounce of willpower he had not to clap his hands over his ears and double up in pain of his own. He _was_ the Planet, its pain was his pain, the lifestream and his soul was inextricably bound together. And he was afraid.

He sank, the swirling green liquid mist that flowed through the veins cut into the living rock of the planet breaking apart before him, twisting and contorting in panic, a thousand spirits caught up in fear and agony. He drifted through it, downward, deeper and deeper towards the Planet's heart.

-~-~-~-

Sector Three was a single triangular cross-section of humanity; the densely packed figures differed in everything except their fear. Above them the plate shook as unimaginable forces smashed into it. Dust fell in great showers; the massed ranks of bodies were hot and sweaty, surging against each other in waves desperate to flee but with nowhere to flee too. The guards were powerless once more, they had dammed the flood of panic once but now it was rising again.

Rude and Elena reached Reeve, Elena still dragging Reno. The brown-eyed man was surrounded by a platoon of guards, but they could do nothing to protect him from the horror of Midgar's predicament.

"Reeve!" Elena let go of Reno to grab hold of Reeve's arm. "There has to be a way to get those gates open without Mako!"

__

Metal against metal, screaming, tearing, crushing.

"There's no way" Reeve turned to the blond woman, his face grief stricken. "The President didn't want any way for the people of the slums to escape."

__

His father dead… his sister's tears… his Mother's soft murmur; what did we do to deserve this? 

"We're all going to die…" Elena whispered, unbelieving.

"… The control room, Reeve." Rude turned sharply to the man. "There's an override circuit…"

Reeve shook his head. "The control room was ripped apart by Weapon. It took me all night to fix up the intercom system, and that was relatively untouched. Besides, even the override was hooked up to the reactors."

__

Everyone was screaming, always screaming… what did we do to deserve this?

"…………You mean it's impossible?" Rude looked upward to where the plate was vibrating like a sail in a storm.

__

Tseng turned towards him, a faintly irritated look in his eye; it may be impossible Reno, but Turks specialise in the impossible.

Elena put her head in her hands with a soft moan. Rude was staring up at the plate, knowing it would fall and wondering how much time he had left alive. Around them the guards tightened the grip on their rifles, steady as rocks. Outside them the wave of people alternately cried and screamed, some in hysterics, some laughing shrilly, some slumped stony faced and silent.

Reno began to walk.

-~-~-~-

The heart of the planet was a rock hard ball of solidified Mako, thousands of miles in diameter. Great cracks criss-crossed its surface, filled with gleaming rivers of green light. Aerith knelt by one such river, her body soft and flickering strangely, illuminated by the river. Her hands were pressed together, her eyes focused on the stream. 

Tseng followed her gaze, and saw the face of Cloud, exhausted looking, sweat running down it, yet set with grim determination. The view changed suddenly, and the harsh imperial features of Sephiroth appeared, the cold green eyes brighter than the lifestream itself. 

"…" Aerith held one hand over the pool. "Cloud…"

Suddenly the stream grew hot, a great flare of fire sweeping across the picture. There were sliding chaotic images, a sword swinging again and again, light, gashes of blood, burning bright green eyes, and then Sephiroth was falling backwards, dissolving into whiteness so bright Tseng was forced to slam his hand across his eyes for fear of going blind. 

"Cloud!" Aerith thrust her hand into the pool, crying out in fear. Tseng peered through his fingers and saw her entire body surrounded by white light, white light that shot upwards through the veins of the planet and out. 

"It's not enough…" Aerith lifted her eyes to Tseng, beseeching. "It's not enough to stop Meteor!"

-~-~-~-

"Where's Reno?" Elena asked suddenly.

"?" Rude stopped staring upwards and turned to look at where his friend had been standing, and then swept a gaze across the crowd until he spotted the redhead making his way swiftly towards the train station. "… there… what's he doing?" Shaking his head, he started pushing his way after him.

"Where?" Elena bounced up on tiptoe trying to see over the heads of the surrounding people, her small stature making it difficult. Unable to see Reno anywhere she pouted in frustration, and switched her gaze towards the broad back of Rude. As she stared at it she became aware of a small dot of red light that swung awkwardly over him, finally coming to rest in the centre of his back. Elena stared for a moment, and then leapt forward.

"Down Rude!" she shouted as she slammed into his back, sending him flying.

Rude staggered and recovered his balance, turning just in time to see the blood blossom from Elena's chest, the bullet slamming into the ground at his feet. Elena's hand went to the wound, her eyes slowly widening with shock, and then pain. She slumped forward just as the sound of the shot echoed past them.

The crowd screamed and drew back, leaving them in an exposed circle. Rude caught Elena as she fell, sliding her over to one arm as his other brought out his gun. Following the line of the bullet, he found himself staring at Joanna, far in the distance and already lining up another shot.

"Bitch!" he fired, once, twice, three times. Each bullet found a different spot, the first going through her head, the second through her stomach, and the final bullet lodging deep in her heart. Joanna fell backwards, landing in a crumpled gory heap. Rude dropped his gun and clutched Elena tightly, his horror mounting as he realised her blood was soaking into his jacket and flowing over his hands.

"Elena - Elena!" 

He dropped to his knees as blood bubbled over her lips. Her face was losing its colour, fading to grey. Rude shook, instinctively knowing this was far beyond a potion's ability to heal but emptying his pockets anyway, throwing the curative liquids over her with desperation. 

"No………" behind the dark glasses his eyes blurred with tears, and the crowd moved even further away from the kneeling man and the bleeding woman in his arms.

-~-~-~-

Reno ran out of the station into a scene resembling Hell. The sky was on fire, the bloated and monstrous shape of Meteor filling it almost entirely. The wind screamed across the metal, throwing entire houses into the air, ripping walls to pieces, devouring the city and leaving rubble in it's wake. Lightening stabbed downwards, great electrical swords that smashed into the plate and started fires that raged in bloody mimicry of the sky.

Reno pulled his sunglasses down in front of his eyes and began to dodge and weave his way towards the Shinra building. The gale tore at him hungrily, ripping at his hair and jacket and sending him stumbling from support to support. 

He reached the entrance to the building just as a blinding blue-white light swelled around him, smashing up through the building and striking deep into the body of the meteor. Burning fire shot over him and he cried out in agony as his skin charred. The Shinra building was flailing helplessly, chunks of metal being shorn from its sides and disappearing into the maelstrom of energy.

He pushed onwards, climbing unsteadily up the stairs; pain working it's way through his body. The control room barely existed, a torn out roof to what remained of Midgar's tallest building. There was nothing to protect him from the full brunt of the wind, the searing heat, the strange blue-white light that had almost killed his sight.

He crawled across the debris littered floor, pushing aside Rufus' burned up corpse to reach the crux of the cables. They were a tangled mess, burnt out ends torn from their resting places and thrown around to lie like thick dead snakes. Reno scrabbled amongst them with mounting desperation, here a minor circuit for the building itself, here the thick cables which led into Sector Six, here the shorn off ends of the ones that had once provided power for Sector Seven, here the ones which ran through the main pillar, and finally the ones which led to Sector Three. 

He closed his hand around the primary cable. He needed power.

Lightening flashed on the edge of his vision.

The wind screeched through the room, tearing Rufus's corpse free and spinning it away. Reno swallowed and gripped his electro-mag rod more firmly. He had no idea how much power was needed to run the entire Sector, and there was no time to follow the main cable to where it started to split into separate circuits for different jobs. 

He stood up, clutching the cable in one hand and his electro-mag rod in the other. Slowly he raised his rod above his head.

Lightening stabbed; leaping from the screaming sky to the thin metal shaft pointed so defiantly upwards. It raced through Reno's body, taking the only route it could, through his flesh and into the thick cable.

Reno screamed.

Sector Three lit up.

The door slid open.

The mass of people started to run.

Midgar vomited up its citizens, humanity pushing their way through the narrow door and spilling in a dark crowd away from the city, running and running from their dying home. 

Rude looked up as the people raced past, his arms still gripped tight around the blonde woman who was dying so quickly. He didn't want to run, he wanted to howl his hate and rage and misery to the world. He took a deep sobbing breath.

Reeve slid to the ground beside him, grabbed his arm and shouted something, pointing in the direction of the open door. Rude tried to pull away, but Reeve leaned in closer, doing his best to raise his voice over the noise of the panicking fleeing crowd, and the screaming of Midgar.

"There's still time! Save Elena!"

Rude looked at him and comprehension dawned. If there was even the smallest chance…

He stood, carrying the woman in his arms and turned to run with the rest. 

-~-~-~-

Tseng looked at Aerith's great green eyes, the tears flowing from them unchecked. His gaze drifted to the great green ball of solidified Mako beneath his feet and then to the stream that ran through it. Meteor was visible in it, torn apart by Holy but still coming.

He bent and put his hand on the crystal beneath them. The other he held out to Aerith.

"You have to help me," he said calmly.

She stared at him, but took his hand. For a moment the two knelt together, silent. Then together they whispered the words that would summon the greatest power of all; the power that all other summons were merely a reflection of.

"Lifestream."

And the Planet, the largest Materia of all, released it.

-~-~-~-

Reno slumped forward, the circuit breaking. 

And Midgar fell.

-~-~-~-

Rude made it through the gate just as the central pillar snapped. Behind him there was an unearthly roar as the plate smashed downwards, dust spilling out from it and overtaking him as he ran, turning the world grey so that it seemed everything was lost in the noise of Midgar's death. He ran, Elena clutched tight.

He didn't see the energy that drifted up from the ground, turning and twisting and merging together as it danced its way towards Midgar.

Life, death, creation, destruction.

Even as the city turned to dust, the trees were spreading root.

Even as Meteor burnt, ripped and shredded, the Lifestream healed, soothed and doused.

The Shinra building folded in on itself, collapsing into a cloud of dust. The Shinra logo that had been fastened to the side crashed downwards on top of the pile and the entire structure sank out of sight; the central pillar snapping beneath it and the six parts of the plate sliding inwards with the screech of tortured metal.

Vines started clambering their way up the metal, sending questing tips through smashed windows and pushing their way through rubbled concrete. Roots thrust through pavement and moss spread in damp green patches across roofs. Leaves blossomed and overhung the destruction, creating dappled patterns of light and shade across fallen supports and overturned walls. A car became overgrown, plants spreading across it's harsh lines and making them soft. 

The Shinra logo, lying in the centre of it all, began to split as a trunk forced it's way up into the open air. The metal screamed as the tree grew, spreading branches, the trunk getting thicker and thicker until the logo could take no more and fell into two broken halves. 

And Holy surrounded it all, containing it and preventing the chaos from spreading further.

-~-~-~-

The Highwind swept across the sky, it's engines roaring. Beneath it the very ground boiled. But already the surge of power was fading, the light dissipating. Rude stopped and looked as the dust settled.

Midgar was gone. In its place was a mountain of rubble, covered over with moss, flowers and trees. The lifestream was falling back into the ground, raining down on the heap gently and causing yet more abundant growth. 

Rude watched blankly, and slowly became aware of a figure made of green light slowly growing in front of him. He stared as the features solidified before him, shining brightly.

"……… Tseng?"

The figure nodded and dropped its gaze towards Elena, lying limp in Rude's arms. He touched her forehead gently, there was a faint green glow beneath her skin and she sighed softly.

"You healed her." Rude said slowly.

Tseng turned away from the Turk, and looked towards the fallen Midgar. His words were quiet, but Rude had no problem hearing them.

"Yes. I exchanged my life for hers."

"……… your…life?"

"I wasn't killed by Sephiroth. But I am dying now. She deserves no less."

Rude nodded slowly.

"……… is Reno………?"

"He has gone to the Planet."

Rude looked down at Elena's face. She was slightly flushed, and breathing gently. He wondered how she would have responded to all this.

"…………he…… sacrificed himself…"

"Yes."

"……and you…… you did as well."

"I have found the Promised Land." Tseng turned back and also looked down at Elena. "Look after her."

Rude nodded again.

Tseng closed his eyes, and began to fade. He disappeared silently just as Elena opened her eyes and looked up at Rude in confusion and then fear.

"Rude?"

"…………………" Rude set her down on the ground gently, and sat next to her. There was silence as they looked at the remains of Midgar, Reno's grave, covered in flowers.

****

The End 


End file.
